Bromine

Bioaccumulation: aquatic / sediment

Administrative data

Endpoint:

bioaccumulation: aquatic / sediment

Data waiving:

study technically not feasible

Justification for data waiving:

other:

Applicant's summary and conclusion

Conclusions:

Bromine is not likely to bioaccumulate based on estimates of log Kow and the fact that bromine is rapidly transformed into other brominated species in aqueous solution.

Executive summary:

Bromine is an inorganic substance with the molecular formula Br2. Upon contact with water, volatile bromine is released, and bromine in the aqueous compartment reacts rapidly to form hydrobromic (HBr) and hypobromous acids (HOBr). These products also dissociate, such that all the various forms of halogen (free, combined, residual oxidants) will exist in an equilibrium dependent on a number of variables such as pH, temperature, concentrations, electrochemical environment, headspace, dissolved solutes, suspended materials, light wavelength and intensity, among others. Thus it is not feasible to perform the test on bromine itself.

An estimation of the log Kow for bromine is 1.03, so it has a low potential for bioaccumulation. The Canadian Council of Resource and Environmental Ministers (1987) concluded for freshwater organisms, since chlorine and chloramines do not appear to have any potential for bioaccumulation or bioconcentration, it is reasonable to assume that this is probably the case for bromine and bromamines.

Thus, exposure of fish species to bromine would not generate meaningful data, and it is not necessary to conduct the bioaccumulation test.