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EC number: 227-534-9 | CAS number: 5873-54-1
- Life Cycle description
- Uses advised against
- Endpoint summary
- Appearance / physical state / colour
- Melting point / freezing point
- Boiling point
- Density
- Particle size distribution (Granulometry)
- Vapour pressure
- Partition coefficient
- Water solubility
- Solubility in organic solvents / fat solubility
- Surface tension
- Flash point
- Auto flammability
- Flammability
- Explosiveness
- Oxidising properties
- Oxidation reduction potential
- Stability in organic solvents and identity of relevant degradation products
- Storage stability and reactivity towards container material
- Stability: thermal, sunlight, metals
- pH
- Dissociation constant
- Viscosity
- Additional physico-chemical information
- Additional physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials
- Nanomaterial agglomeration / aggregation
- Nanomaterial crystalline phase
- Nanomaterial crystallite and grain size
- Nanomaterial aspect ratio / shape
- Nanomaterial specific surface area
- Nanomaterial Zeta potential
- Nanomaterial surface chemistry
- Nanomaterial dustiness
- Nanomaterial porosity
- Nanomaterial pour density
- Nanomaterial photocatalytic activity
- Nanomaterial radical formation potential
- Nanomaterial catalytic activity
- Endpoint summary
- Stability
- Biodegradation
- Bioaccumulation
- Transport and distribution
- Environmental data
- Additional information on environmental fate and behaviour
- Ecotoxicological Summary
- Aquatic toxicity
- Endpoint summary
- Short-term toxicity to fish
- Long-term toxicity to fish
- Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Long-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Toxicity to aquatic algae and cyanobacteria
- Toxicity to aquatic plants other than algae
- Toxicity to microorganisms
- Endocrine disrupter testing in aquatic vertebrates – in vivo
- Toxicity to other aquatic organisms
- Sediment toxicity
- Terrestrial toxicity
- Biological effects monitoring
- Biotransformation and kinetics
- Additional ecotoxological information
- Toxicological Summary
- Toxicokinetics, metabolism and distribution
- Acute Toxicity
- Irritation / corrosion
- Sensitisation
- Repeated dose toxicity
- Genetic toxicity
- Carcinogenicity
- Toxicity to reproduction
- Specific investigations
- Exposure related observations in humans
- Toxic effects on livestock and pets
- Additional toxicological data
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Bioaccumulation: aquatic / sediment
Administrative data
Link to relevant study record(s)
Description of key information
Due to the high reactivity of the substances of the MDI category with water, bioaccumulation tests can in principle not be performed with these substances. However, one bioaccumulation test (OECD 305E) with 4,4'-MDI (CERI, 2000) and a supporting mesocosm study with pMDI with an indication of bioaccumulation potential have been performed (Heimbach, 1993). As no analytical measurements were done, it cannot be determined if the values are truly related to MDI. However, based on the available information and the reactivity of MDI substances of the category approach, no new bioaccumulation study is deemed necessary.
Key value for chemical safety assessment
- BCF (aquatic species):
- 200 dimensionless
Additional information
The test substance is covered by the category approach of methylenediphenyl diisocyanates (MDI). Hence, data of the category substances can be used to cover this endpoint. It is recognised that there is a measured log Pow value of 4.52 for monomeric MDI (determined with MDI mixed isomers) (Yakabe et al., 2000). This log Pow value is only of theoretical interest as MDI is very unstable in aqueous media (hydrolysis half-life T1/2 under homogeneous conditions < 5 min.), see Section 5.1.2: Hydrolysis). The determination was by an HPLC method and comparison to reference chemicals.
A BCF study (CERI, 2002) carried out according to guideline principles with [14C] radiolabelled 4,4’-MDI and Cyprinus carpio, derives BCF values of 92 and 200 for concentrations of 0.8 and 0.08 µg MDI/L. The reported BCF values are highly questionable given the known rapid hydrolysis of MDI under these conditions. Liquid scintillation counting was the method of analysis for all water and fish samples and no analyses of 4,4’-MDI itself were carried out during the course of the study. A BCF value of 200 indicates low potential for bioaccumulation, but it must be recognised that this value probably reflects the bioconcentration of water soluble hydrolysis products which most likely include 4,4’-MDA and low molecular weight urea. So it can be concluded that degradation products of MDI do not bioaccumulate.
MDI reacts with water to form predominantly high molecular weight, inert polyureas and trace amounts of 4,4’-methylenedianiline (MDA). This MDA is considered as the only degradation product of significance, and it has a log Pow value of 1.55. Its measured BCF is < 14 (at 0.2 mg/L) in Cyprinus carpio. So, it is concluded that degradation products of MDI do not bioaccumulate.
There is a mesocosm study on pMDI (Heimbach 1993) study, carried out over 112 days, at a loading of 10,000 mg pMDI/L. MDI was detected neither in the water (detection limit 0.005 mg/L) nor in fish (detection limit 0.51 mg/kg). A numeric BCF can not be calculated from these non-detects, but clearly these results show in a practical way that MDI does not accumulate in fish.
Lastly, a BCF value of 439 for 4,4’-MDI may be estimated using the BCFBAFTM (v 3.00) model, a part of the Estimation Program Interface Suite (v.4.00, 2009) of QSAR tools (Tury, 2010). An estimated BCF value of 439 for 4,4’-MDI suggests a low potential for bioaccumulation. This is in line with the low bioaccumulation value found in the bioaccumulation study and in the mesocosm study.
These studies have been supplemented by an additional in-vitro fish liver metabolism study recently performed on a (transient) transformation compound, i.e. diamino-monourea of MDA, the most water-soluble and lowest molecular weight polyurea species. In a recent in-vitro fish liver metabolism study (OECD 319A) (Ebersbach and Windisch, 2019) performed with the transient transformation compound diamino-monourea of MDA, a similar low bioaccumulation potential was observed.
To summarise, a new bioaccumulation study is not deemed necessary due to rapid hydrolysis (resulting in unlikely exposure) of substance of the MDI category. Supporting data including a mesocosm study, modelling and assessment of degradation products, all indicate no potential for significant bioaccumulation in the aquatic environment.
Information on Registered Substances comes from registration dossiers which have been assigned a registration number. The assignment of a registration number does however not guarantee that the information in the dossier is correct or that the dossier is compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (the REACH Regulation). This information has not been reviewed or verified by the Agency or any other authority. The content is subject to change without prior notice.
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