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Environmental fate & pathways

Biodegradation in soil

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Description of key information

aerobic degradation: 53.4 %                after 5 days
anaerobic degradation: 46.3 % after 5 days

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Additional information

Methanol is readily biodegradable in freshwater and thus no additional information on degradation and simulation tests in soil or sediments is required according to REACH regulation. However, additional data on biodegradation in soil and sediments are available and presented here for the sake of completeness. A study by Scheunert et al. (1987) showed that degradation in soil was higher under aerobic than anaerobic conditions. Looking at CO2 evolution, biodegradation was 53.4 and 46.3 % after 5 days under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Tests with radiolabelled material confirm the higher degradation under aerobic conditions.