An overview of hazard and risk assessment of the OECD high production volume chemical category—Long chain alcohols [C6–C22] (LCOH),

Hans Sanderson, Scott E. Belanger, Peter R. Fisk, Christoph Schäfers, Gauke Veenstra, Allen M. Nielsen, Yutaka Kasai, Andreas Willing, Scott D. Dyer, Kathleen Stanton, Richard Sedlak

This review summarizes the findings of the assessment report for the category, long chain alcohols (LCOH) with a carbon chain length range of C(6)-C(22) covering 30 substances, and >1.5million tonnes/year consumed globally. The category was evaluated under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) high production volume chemicals program in 2006. The main findings of the assessment include: (1) no unacceptable human or environmental risks were identified; (2) these materials are rapidly and readily biodegradable; (3) a parabolic relationship was demonstrated between carbon chain length and acute and chronic aquatic toxicity; (4) category-specific (quantitative) structure-activity relationships were developed enabling prediction of properties across the entire category; (5) LCOH occur naturally in the environment in an equilibrium between synthesis and degradation; (6) industry coming together and sharing resources results in minimizing the need for additional animal tests, produces cost savings, and increases scientific quality of the assessment.