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EC number: 234-911-1 | CAS number: 12039-90-6
- 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

Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Genetic toxicity in vitro
Description of key information
No data is available for Zirconium disilicide (target substance) as in the framework of an OECD 471 study the substance was not soluble in a range of solvents for preparing the dilution series of the test material. Thus, it was not possible to conduct the study with the target substance. To assess the mutagenicity potential of Zirconium disilicide available data from Zirconium oxychloride (source substance) is used in a read-across approach. In a bacterial reverse gene mutation assay the source substance was tested negative in S. typhimurium strains TA1535, TA1537, TA98 and TA100.
Link to relevant study records
- Endpoint:
- in vitro gene mutation study in bacteria
- Type of information:
- read-across from supporting substance (structural analogue or surrogate)
- Adequacy of study:
- weight of evidence
- Justification for type of information:
- It was technically not possible to conduct an in vitro reverse mutation assay with the target substance zirconium disilicide. The target substance was not soluble in any of the solvents used (Aqua dest, DMSO, ethanol and tetrahydrofuran).
As no further data is available for the target substance to assess mutagenicity, available data from a suitable read-partner was used. The hexahydrate of zirconium dichloride oxide (ZrOCl2: CAS No. 7699-43-6; ZrOCl2 6xH2O: CAS No. 25399-81-9) was tested in an in vitro bacterial reverse mutation assay (Mortelmans, 1986).
As indicated in ECHA‘s guidance on QSAR and grouping of chemicals (ECHA Chapter R.6, 2008a), comparison of the water solubility is an important aspect in determining the similarity between compounds for purposes of the read-across strategy. This approach assumes that the extent of water solubility approximates the bioavailability of a substance. Therefore, inorganic substances of similar water solubility would have similar toxicity, based on the fact that both substances would release the same toxicological metal species. The use of source substances which have a higher water solubility compared to the target substance can be considered as an appropriate worst-case read-across approach for potential systemic and environmental effects and is adequately protective.
The source substance ZrOCl2 show a higher water solubility than ZrSi2 and hence results in a higher release of zirconium ions compared to zirconium disilicide. Thus, the used read-across partner is considered as suitable.
Despite the low water solubility of the target substance, data is available from a bio-elution test. The release of zirconium ions from ZrSi2 is very low in artificial body fluids. For human health endpoints, it is the relative bioavailability of zirconium at target site(s) that determines the potential occurrence and severity of the systemic effects to be assessed for the read-across of zirconium substances. The source substance ZrOCl2 is considered to be highly soluble in water. At physiological pH zirconium will precipitate. Therefore, the zirconium release of this substance is expected to be similar low as for the target substance under physiological conditions and thus, read-across is considered to be adequately safe and will not underestimate the toxicity. - Reason / purpose for cross-reference:
- read-across source
- Key result
- Species / strain:
- other: TA1535, TA1537, TA100 and TA98
- Metabolic activation:
- with and without
- Genotoxicity:
- negative
- Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:
- no cytotoxicity, but tested up to precipitating concentrations
- Vehicle controls validity:
- not examined
- Untreated negative controls validity:
- valid
- Positive controls validity:
- valid
- Additional information on results:
- For detailed results please refer to table 1 in box "Any other information on results incl. tables"
- Remarks on result:
- other: non-mutagenic
- Conclusions:
- In conclusion, it can be stated that during the described mutagenicity test and under the experimental conditions reported, the test item can be considered as non-mutagenic.
- Executive summary:
In a reverse gene mutation assay in bacteria conducted similar to OECD test guideline 471, strains TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537 of Salmonella typhimurium were exposed to Zirconium oxychloride hexahydrate in 95% ethanol at concentrations of 10, 33, 100, 333, 1000, 3333 and 6666 µg/plate in the presence and absence of mammalian metabolic activation. The positive controls induced the appropriate responses in the corresponding strains. There was no evidence of induced mutant colonies over background in all tester strains. Therefore, Zirconium oxychloride hexahydrate is considered to be non-mutagenic in this Salmonella typhimurium reverse gene mutation assay.
- Endpoint:
- in vitro gene mutation study in bacteria
- Type of information:
- experimental study
- Adequacy of study:
- weight of evidence
- Study period:
- 2017-06-13 to 2017-08-17
- Reliability:
- 1 (reliable without restriction)
- Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:
- guideline study
- Qualifier:
- according to guideline
- Guideline:
- OECD Guideline 471 (Bacterial Reverse Mutation Assay)
- Version / remarks:
- adopted 21st July 1997
- Deviations:
- no
- GLP compliance:
- yes (incl. QA statement)
- Type of assay:
- bacterial reverse mutation assay
- Target gene:
- Histidine locus
- Species / strain / cell type:
- S. typhimurium TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 98, TA 100 and TA 102
- Details on mammalian cell type (if applicable):
- not specified
- Test concentrations with justification for top dose:
- not specified
- Vehicle / solvent:
- not specified
- Untreated negative controls:
- not specified
- Negative solvent / vehicle controls:
- not specified
- True negative controls:
- not specified
- Positive controls:
- not specified
- Details on test system and experimental conditions:
- not specified
- Rationale for test conditions:
- not specified
- Evaluation criteria:
- not specified
- Statistics:
- not specified
- Species / strain:
- S. typhimurium, other: TA 98, TA 100, TA 1535, TA 1537
- Metabolic activation:
- not applicable
- Genotoxicity:
- not determined
- Cytotoxicity / choice of top concentrations:
- not determined
- Vehicle controls validity:
- not examined
- Untreated negative controls validity:
- not examined
- Positive controls validity:
- not examined
- Additional information on results:
- The test item could not be prepared in an appropriate solvent and diluted prior to treatment. Due to the properties of the material, Zirconium disilicide was not soluble in any of the solvents used (A. dest, DMSO, ethanol and tetrahydrofuran). No stable suspension which is suitable for the preparation of the dilution series could be obtained. Therefore it was not possible to perform any further steps in this study.
- Remarks on result:
- not measured/tested
- Conclusions:
- Zirconium disilicide was not soluble in any of the solvents used. Therefore, it was not possible to perform an Ames test.
- Executive summary:
In this study, the test item Zirconium disilicide could not be prepared in an appropriate solvent and diluted prior to treatment. Due to the properties of the material, Zirconium disilicide was not soluble in any of the solvents used (A. dest, DMSO, ethanol and tetrahydrofuran). No stable suspension which is suitable for the preparation of the dilution series could be obtained. Therefore it was not possible to perform any further steps in this study. Since the test item could not be prepared in an appropriate solvent and diluted prior to treatment, it was not possible to perform an Ames test with Zirconium disilicide.
Referenceopen allclose all
Table 1: Summary of Results | |||||||||||||||||||||
Concentration µg/plate |
TA100 | Concentration µg/plate |
TA1535 | ||||||||||||||||||
without S9 | with 10% hamster S9 | with 10% rat S9 | without S9 | with 10% hamster S9 | with 10% rat S9 | ||||||||||||||||
Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | ||||
Negative Control | 142 | 4.6 | 127 | 1 | 150 | 5.5 | Negative Control | 31 | 2.6 | 9 | 1.3 | 34 | 2.4 | 24 | 3.5 | 34 | 3.3 | 29 | 1.5 | ||
Positive Control | 268 | 19.3 | 1572 | 41.5 | 742 | 48.2 | Positive Control | 344 | 6.9 | 175 | 23.2 | 505 | 12.5 | 326 | 15.2 | 223 | 19.9 | 114 | 6.1 | ||
10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 28 | 5.2 | - | - | 36 | 2.3 | - | - | 45 | 5.8 | - | - | ||
33 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 33 | 29 | 3.5 | 36 | 3.2 | - | - | 39 | 2.2 | - | - | ||||
100 | 125 | 8.2 | 158 | 9.5 | 136 | 4.5 | 100 | 30 | 2.4 | 22 | 3.0 | 41 | 3.5 | 33 | 2.3 | 42 | 6.6 | 30 | 1.0 | ||
333 | 108 | 10.9 | 169 | 10.5 | 126 | 7.1 | 333 | 30 | 1.0 | 29 | 6.4 | 38 | 6.1 | 37 | 3.1 | 35 | 3.7 | 33 | 3.6 | ||
1000 | 116 | 13.1 | 156 | 7.0 | 134 | 3.7 | 1000 | 30p | 1.0 | 20 | 4.2 | 30p | 0.3 | 35 | 4.9 | 38p | 6.8 | 31 | 3.2 | ||
3333 | 149p | 13.5 | 144p | 14.0 | 77p | 38.8 | 3333 | - | - | 26p | 3.8 | - | - | 0p | 0.0 | - | - | 29p | 6.8 | ||
6666 | 48p | 24.0 | 126p | 5.2 | 35p | 35.3 | 6666 | - | - | 0p | 0.0 | - | - | 0p | 0.0 | - | - | 0p | 0.0 |
p= precipitation present in plates
Table 1 continued: Summary of Results | |||||||||||||
Concentration µg/plate |
TA1537 | TA98 | |||||||||||
without S9 | with 10% hamster S9 | with 10% rat S9 | without S9 | with 10% hamster S9 | with 10% rat S9 | ||||||||
Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | ||
Negative Control | 7 | 2.9 | 7 | 0.7 | 12 | 3.2 | 25 | 0.0 | 32 | 0.9 | 30 | 3.5 | |
Positive Control | 109 | 8.7 | 536 | 34.9 | 197 | 7.6 | 793 | 25.9 | 1385 | 100.5 | 556 | 36.2 | |
10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
33 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
100 | 8 | 0.9 | 13 | 4.2 | 7 | 1.2 | 21 | 4.3 | 34 | 2.7 | 30 | 0.6 | |
333 | 8 | 1.9 | 8 | 1.9 | 9 | 2.6 | 28 | 1.5 | 34 | 2.6 | 32 | 4.2 | |
1000 | 8 | 1.8 | 12 | 2.0 | 9 | 2.2 | 21 | 4.6 | 32 | 5.8 | 27 | 4.1 | |
3333 | 9p | 1.8 | 7p | 2.5 | 13p | 0.9 | 19p | 1.5 | 30p | 3.0 | 28p | 2.2 | |
6666 | 0p | 0.0 | 0p | 0.0 | 0p | 0.0 | 0p | 0.0 | 0p | 0.0 | 0p | 0.0 |
p= precipitation present in plates
Endpoint conclusion
- Endpoint conclusion:
- no adverse effect observed (negative)
Additional information
No data is available for Zirconium disilicide (target substance) as in the framework of an OECD 471 study the substance was not soluble in a range of solvents for preparing the dilution series of the test material. Thus, it was not possible to conduct the study with the target substance. That the target substance is highly insoluble was also seen in a T/D test conducted in accordance with OECD 29 (see IUCLID section 4.8).
To assess the mutagenicity potential of Zirconium disilicide available data from Zirconium oxychloride (source substance) is used in a read-across approach. For justification of read-across please refer to the read-across report attached to IUCLID section 13.
In a bacterial reverse gene mutation assay, which was conducted similar to OECD test guideline 471, the source substance was tested negative in S. typhimurium strains TA1535, TA1537, TA98 and TA100.
Justification for classification or non-classification
Based on available data from a suitable read-across partner, the target substance Zirconium disilicide does not warrant classification for mutagenicity.
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