New ECHA Guidance requires consideration of terrestrial bioaccumulation

The revision of the ECHA Guidance on PBT/vPvB Assessment published in June 2017 (Guidance on Information Requirements and Chemical Safety Assessment, Chapter R.11) introduces new screening criteria for the assessment of bioaccumulation in air-breathing terrestrial organisms, consisting of a combination of partition coefficients for octanol-water (Kow) and for octanol-air (Koa): log Kow > 2 und log Koa > 5. Log Koa is not an information requirement under the REACH Regulation and therefore has to be measured or estimated separately. Current work by FoBiG suggests that a considerable fraction of the substances registered under the REACH Regulation may fulfil the new screening criteria for bioaccumulation in air-breathing terrestrial organisms.

For further information please contact Jan Oltmanns.