Glutaral

Toxicity to soil macroorganisms except arthropods

Description of key information

glutaraldehyde revealed very low acute toxicity to earthworm indicated by a LC50 value of 170 mg a.i./kg dry weight soil. The result converted to wet weight by dividing with a factor of 1.13 (EUSES manual) results in a LC50 of 150 mg a.i./kg ww.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Short-term EC50 or LC50 for soil macroorganisms:

170 mg/kg soil dw

Additional information

The acute toxicity of glutaraldehyde 50% to earthworms was studied with Eisenia foetida according to OECD Guideline 207 (BASF AG 01/0411/67/1). Adult earthworms (with visible clitella) were exposed for 14 days to glutaraldehyde-treated artificial soil. The nominal test concentrations were 0, 62.5, 125, 250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg dry weight soil. The animals were checked after 7 and 14 days for mortality, behaviour and body weight. Test substance-related mortality was observed at the two highest tested concentrations of 500 (15%) and 1000 mg/kg soil (25%); at 250 mg/kg soil, no mortality was observed. The LC50 was 170 mg a.i./kg soil.
In conclusion, glutaraldehyde revealed very low acute toxicity to earthworm. Nevertheless, for a substance being considered as „readily biodegradable“, it can be assumed that it will be biodegraded within the STP process and as a consequence a transfer to the soil compartment is not expected. In addition, the substance is not bioaccumulative. Therefore, toxicity to soil macroorganisms is unlikely.