Neodymium trifluoride

Acute Toxicity: inhalation

Administrative data

Endpoint:

acute toxicity: inhalation

Type of information:

experimental study

Adequacy of study:

supporting study

Study period:

31 July 2012 - 12 September 2012

Reliability:

4 (not assignable)

Rationale for reliability incl. deficiencies:

other: Study could not be performed due to the nature of the test substance. The powder was too sticky to generate the dust atmosphere required for the test.

Data source

Reference

Reference Type:

study report

Title:

Unnamed

Year:

2012

Report date:

2012

Materials and methods

Test guideline

Qualifier:

according to guideline

Guideline:

OECD Guideline 436 (Acute Inhalation Toxicity: Acute Toxic Class Method)

Deviations:

no

GLP compliance:

yes (incl. QA statement)

Test type:

acute toxic class method

Test material

Test material information

Constituent 1

Reference substance name:

Neodymium trifluoride

EC Number:

237-253-3

EC Name:

Neodymium trifluoride

Cas Number:

13709-42-7

Molecular formula:

F3Nd

IUPAC Name:

neodymium trifluoride

Test material form:

solid: particulate/powder

Remarks:

migrated information: powder

Details on test material:

Appearance: Pale brown powder
Storage conditions: Room temperature, in the dark

Administration / exposure

Details on inhalation exposure:

PREPARATION
On visual inspection, the test material appeared to be a free flowing powder which felt slightly “sticky” to the touch. In order to reduce the particle size of the test material and facilitate aerosolisation, it was first ground using a Lloytron mini grinder prior to use; however, this had minimal effect on the test material. It was therefore ground using a small amount of diethyl ether in a Retsch Planetary Ball Mill (Retsch (UK) Ltd, Leeds, UK). The diethyl ether was removed via evaporation prior to atmosphere generation trials being attempted.

During attempts to produce an atmosphere of the test material using purpose designed pieces of generation equipment, the test material caused the equipment to block and therefore stall extremely quickly; blockages occurred so quickly that atmospheres could not be maintained for any significant period of time. This problem was apparent in the SAG410 Solid Aerosol Generator and ‘Wright’s Dust Feed’. It was considered that these blockages were due to the slightly sticky nature of the test material, which caused it to adhere to the generation equipment instead of being ejected into the test chamber. These pieces of equipment have been employed for many years at the testing laboratory and have proven themselves to be very effective at generating test atmospheres that are suitable for use in this type of study.

It was then considered appropriate to try and generate the test material as a liquid aerosol. This method had been successful when trying to generate difficult powders/solids as liquid aerosols in the past. Ethanol Absolut was chosen in order to try and dissolve the test material such that a suitable formulation could be produced. However, this was unsuccessful as the test material dropped out of the formulation very quickly and was therefore not considered suitable.

Results and discussion

Any other information on results incl. tables

Due to the nature of the test material, the study was not carried out due to a lack of success at creating a suitable exposure atmosphere for animals. It was not possible to generate an atmosphere of the test material that was suitable for an acute inhalation study, either as a dust or liquid aerosol.

Applicant's summary and conclusion

Interpretation of results:

other: not possible to generate dust atmosphere

Conclusions:

Due to the nature of the test material, the study was not carried out as it was not possible to generate an atmosphere of the test material that was suitable for an acute inhalation study, either as a dust or liquid aerosol.

Executive summary:

An attempt was made to assess the toxicity potential of the test material via the inhalation route in accordance with the standardised guideline OECD 436.

Due to the nature of the test material, the study was not carried out due to a lack of success at creating a suitable exposure atmosphere for animals. It was not possible to generate an atmosphere of the test material that was suitable for an acute inhalation study, either as a dust or liquid aerosol.

It may have been possible to generate an atmosphere by dissolving the test material in a suitable solvent, but this was ultimately considered to be unrepresentative of the hazard presented by the test material and so was not pursued further.

In view of the physical nature of the test material and its apparent low volatility, it is considered unlikely to represent a significant hazard by the inhalation route in its original form.