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Environmental fate & pathways

Biodegradation in water: screening tests

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Description of key information

Not readily biodegradable in standard ready-biodegradability tests. Inherently biodegradable after adaptation or through co-metabolism.

Key value for chemical safety assessment

Biodegradation in water:
inherently biodegradable, not fulfilling specific criteria

Additional information

Results indicate that anthracene can be regarded as inherently biodegradable. The microbial biodegradation of anthracene requires induction of corresponding enzymes which in general are not constitutively available in unadapted microflora. Fungal metabolism is a second way for PAHs, including anthracene, to be oxidised and thus to be degraded, frequently in the presence of other co-substrates.