Environmental hazard profile

• Author: Clemm, Christan; Löw, Clara; Baron, Yifaat; Moch, Katja; Möller, Martin; Köhler, Andreas R; Gensch, Carl-Otto; Deubzer, Otmar
• Pages: 27-28

RoHS Annex II Dossier, final

Five cobalt salts

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harmonised protection level. Thereby, the manufacturing processes of EEE are covered (though

only for the EU) and might substantially affect the uses and amounts of cobalt present in EEE.

Regarding the five cobalt salts, the divalent cobalt cation moiety is considered to constitute the

critical entity being responsible for the human toxicity. However, the five cobalt compounds are

converted during manufacture process and the resulting cobalt compounds might have an impact

during use and waste phase. As pointed out in the section on the scope, such analysis is beyond

the scope of this assessment.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD PROFILE

The ECHA reports (2010a-d) supporting the identification of the five cobalt salts as Substances of

Very High Concern did not consider environmental fate properties or hazards, since the dossiers

were targeted at the identification of the five cobalt salts as CMR substances. There is no other

environmental risk assessment available for the five cobalt salts. However, the European

harmonised classification points out aquatic toxicity as environmental concern of the five cobalt

salts. These substances are attributed the hazard statements H400 and H419 (Aquatic Acute 1

and Aquatic Chronic 1).52

4.1. Endpoints of concern

The five cobalt salts are toxic to aquatic organisms. The aquatic toxicity is acute and chronic as

described by the hazard statements H400 – very toxic to aquatic life and H410 – very toxic to

aquatic life with long lasting effects.

As the five cobalt salts are inorganic substances, degradation is not a relevant process. Due to the

water solubility, the cobalt ion is the relevant compound in the environment. Therefore, in the

following, bioaccumulation and the guidance values refer to cobalt.

4.2. Potential for secondary poisoning and bioaccumulation

Cobalt is considered not to bio-magnify through either freshwater or marine trophic food-webs

according to the information of the ECHA database on registered substances:53

•In aquatic systems, cobalt accumulates from water to plants;

•In general, cobalt is not largely concentrated from soil into plant or soil into invertebrate or

vertebrates.

52 ECHA (2019) Infocard on Cobalt dichloride https://echa.europa.eu/de/substance-information/-

/substanceinfo/100.028.718, last viewed 12.09.2019. (similar hazard statements apply for other cobalt salts too)

53 ECHA Registered Substance Database: Entry for Cobalt dichloride; https://echa.europa.eu/de/registration-dossier/-

/registered-dossier/14346, last viewed 04.06.2018.

ECHA Registered Substance Database: Entry for Cobalt sulphate; https://echa.europa.eu/de/registration-dossier/-

/registered-dossier/15094, last viewed 04.06.2018.

ECHA Registered Substance Database: Entry for Cobalt dinitrate; https://echa.europa.eu/registration-dossier/-

/registered-dossier/14964; last viewed 18.02.2019.

ECHA Registered Substance Database: Entry for Cobalt carbonate; https://echa.europa.eu/registration-dossier/-

/registered-dossier/14925, last viewed 18.02.2019.

ECHA Registered Substance Database: Entry for Cobalt di(acetate); https://echa.europa.eu/registration-dossier/-

/registered-dossier/14769, last viewed 18.02.2019.