Environmental Behaviour of Phosphonates - New Insights into their Abiotic and Biological Degradation.

For manufacturers and users of detergents and cleaning agents, the focus of their efforts is on efficiency in use while at the same time ensuring environmental compatibility and thus protecting our natural resources. Phosphonic acids and their salts have been an indispensable component of such formulations in many cases for several decades but are considered to be difficult to biodegrade and are therefore subject to critical assessment with regard to their environmental behaviour. Current research work is looking at the various pathways of the natural degradation of these substances and shows that phosphonates are both completely degraded abiotically and biologically metabolized as a sole source of phosphorous. The microorganisms capable of doing this are ubiquitous and require an adaptation time of a few days. The conditions under which rapid biodegradation of phosphonates is observed are surprisingly simple and only require the maintenance of an adapted nutrient supply necessary for growth. These findings are groundbreaking for a critical evaluation of the ecological testing standards currently in use and provide further arguments for a holistic view on natural degradation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]