Benzoyl peroxide is a High Production Volume Chemical. which is produced about 1.375 tons/year in Korea as of 2001 survey. The substance is mainly used as initiators in polymerization, catalysts in the plastics industry, bleaching agents for flour and medication for acne vulgaris. In this study. Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships (QSAR) are used for getting adequate information on the physical-chemical properties of this chemical. And hydrolysis in water, acute toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial organisms for benzoyl peroxide were studied. The physical-chemical properties of benzoyl peroxide were estimated as followed; vapor pressure=0.00929 Pa, Log K????=3.43, Henry's Law constant=3.54×10?? atm-m³/mole at 25°C, the half-life of photodegradation=3days and bioconcentration factor (BCF) = 92. Hydrolysis half-life of benzoyl peroxide in water was 5.2 hr at pH 7 at 25°C and according to the structure of this substance hydrolysis product was expected 10 benzoic: acid. Benzoyl peroxide has toxic effects on the aquatic organisms. 72 hr-ErC?? (growth rate) for algae was 0.04㎎/L, 48 hr-EC?? for daphnia was 0.07㎎/L and the 96 hr- LC?? of acute toxicity to lish was 0.24 ㎎/L. Acute toxicity to terrestrial organisms (earth worm) of benzoyl peroxide was low (14 day-LC??= > 1,000㎎/㎏). Although benzoyl peroxide is high toxic to aquatic organisms. the substance is not bioaccumulated because of the rapid removal by hydrolysis (half-life = 5.2 hr at pH 7 at 25°C) and bioldegradation (83% by BOD after 21 days). The toxicity observed is assumed to be due to benzoyl peroxide rather than benzoic acid, which shows milch lower toxicity to aquatic organisms. One can assume that effects occur before hydrolysis lakes place. From the acute toxicity value of algae. daphnia and fish. an assessment factor of 100 was used to determine the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC). The PNEC was calculated to be 0.7 ㎍/L based on the 48 hr- EC?? daphnia (0.07 ㎎/L). The substance shows high acute toxicity to aquatic organisms and some information indicates wide-dispersive use of this substance. So this substance is a candidate for further work, even if it hydrolysis rapidly and has a low bioaccumulation potential. This could lead to local concern for the aquatic environment and therefore environmental exposure assessment is recommended.
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