Bis(2-chloroethyl) ether causes irritation to the skin, eyes, throat, and lungs. In some cases, damage to the lungs can be severe enough to cause death. Breathing low concentrations will cause coughing and nose, and throat irritation.
Animal studies show effects similar to those observed in people. These effects include irritation to the skin, nose, and lungs; lung damage; and a decrease in growth rate. Animals that survived the exposures recovered fully in 4 to 8 days. Some animal studies indicate that bis(2-chloroethyl) ether can affect the nervous system resulting in sluggish and slow movement, staggering, unconsciousness, and death.
We do not know if bis(2-chloroethyl) ether causes reproductive effects or birth defects in people or animals.
The ability of bis(2-chloroethyl) ether to cause cancer in humans has not been established. There is some evidence that bis(2-chloroethyl) ether causes cancer in mice. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that bis(2-chloroethyl) ether is not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity in humans.
The EPA recommends that levels in lakes and streams should be limited to 0.03 parts per billion parts of water (0.03 ppb) to prevent possible health effects from drinking water or eating fish contaminated with bis(2-chloroethyl) ether. Any release to the environment greater than 10 pounds of bis(2-chloroethyl) ether must be reported to the EPA.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit of 15 parts per million (15 ppm) over an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that workplace air should not exceed 5 ppm bis(2-chloroethyl) ether averaged over a 10-hour workday or 40-hour workweek. Their recommended short-term exposure limit (up to 15 minutes) is 10 ppm averaged over an 8-hour period.
The federal recommendations have been updated as of July 1999.
You are not likely to be exposed to large enough amounts of cyanide in the environment to cause adverse health effects. The severity of the harmful effects following cyanide exposure depends in part on the form of cyanide, such as hydrogen cyanide gas or cyanide salts. Exposure to high levels of cyanide for a short time harms the brain and heart and can even cause coma and death. Workers who inhaled low levels of hydrogen cyanide over a period of years had breathing difficulties, chest pain, vomiting, blood changes, headaches, and enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Some of the first indications of cyanide poisoning are rapid, deep breathing and shortness of breath, followed by convulsions (seizures) and loss of consciousness. These symptoms can occur rapidly, depending on the amount eaten. The health effects of large amounts of cyanide are similar, whether you eat, drink, or breathe it; cyanide uptake into the body through the skin is slower than these other means of exposure. Skin contact with hydrogen cyanide or cyanide salts can irritate and produce sores.
There are no reports that cyanide can cause cancer in people or animals. EPA has determined that cyanide is not classifiable as to its human carcinogenicity.
EPA regulates the levels of cyanide that are allowable in drinking water. The highest level of cyanide allowed in drinking water is 0.2 parts cyanide per 1 million parts of water (0.2 ppm). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit for hydrogen cyanide and most cyanide salts of 10 parts cyanide per 1 million parts of air (10 ppm) in the workplace.
Breathing high levels of vinyl chloride can cause you to feel dizzy or sleepy. Breathing very high levels can cause you to pass out, and breathing extremely high levels can cause death.
Some people who have breathed vinyl chloride for several years have changes in the structure of their livers. People are more likely to develop these changes if they breathe high levels of vinyl chloride. Some people who work with vinyl chloride have nerve damage and develop immune reactions. The lowest levels that produce liver changes, nerve damage, and immune reaction in people are not known. Some workers exposed to very high levels of vinyl chloride have problems with the blood flow in their hands. Their fingers turn white and hurt when they go into the cold.
The effects of drinking high levels of vinyl chloride are unknown. If you spill vinyl chloride on your skin, it will cause numbness, redness, and blisters.
Animal studies have shown that long-term exposure to vinyl chloride can damage the sperm and testes.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that vinyl chloride is a known carcinogen. Studies in workers who have breathed vinyl chloride over many years showed an increased risk of liver, brain, lung cancer, and some cancers of the blood have also been observed in workers.
Vinyl chloride is regulated in drinking water, food, and air. The EPA requires that the amount of vinyl chloride in drinking water not exceed 0.002 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of water.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit of 1 part vinyl chloride per 1 million parts of air (1 ppm) in the workplace.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the vinyl chloride content of various plastics. These include plastics that carry liquids and plastics that contact food. The limits for vinyl chloride content vary depending on the nature of the plastic and its use.
Breathing small amounts of MTBE for short periods may cause nose and throat irritation. Some people exposed to MTBE while pumping gasoline, driving their cars, or working in gas stations have reported having headaches, nausea, dizziness, and mental confusion. However, the actual levels of exposure in these cases are unknown. In addition, these symptoms may have been caused by exposure to other chemicals.
There are no data on the effects in people of drinking MTBE. Studies with rats and mice suggest that drinking MTBE may cause gastrointestinal irritation, liver and kidney damage, and nervous system effects.
There is no evidence that MTBE causes cancer in humans. One study with rats found that breathing high levels of MTBE for long periods may cause kidney cancer. Another study with mice found that breathing high levels of MTBE for long periods may cause liver cancer.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EPA have not classified MTBE as to its carcinogenicity.
The EPA has issued guidelines recommending that, to protect children, drinking water levels of MTBE not exceed 4 milligrams per liter of water (4mg/L) for an exposure of 1-10 days, and 3 mg/L for longer-term exposures.
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has recommended an exposure limit of 40 parts of MTBE per million parts of air (40 ppm) for an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.
No information is available regarding possible effects caused by diethyl phthalate if you breathe, eat, or drink it, or if it touches your skin. Very high oral doses of diethyl phthalate have caused death in animals, but brief oral exposures to lower doses caused no harmful effects.
Weight gain was decreased in animals that ate high doses of diethyl phthalate for a long time. The liver and kidneys of these animals were larger than normal, but not from any harmful effects of diethyl phthalate.
It is not known if diethyl phthalate causes birth defects in humans. Fewer live babies were born to female animals that were exposed to diethyl phthalate throughout their lives.
The presence of an extra rib has been noted in newborn rats whose mothers were given very high dietary doses of diethyl phthalate, but this effect is not considered harmful by all scientists.
Some birth defects occurred in rats whose mothers received high doses of diethyl phthalate by injection during pregnancy. Humans are not exposed to diethyl phthalate by this route.
Diethyl phthalate can be mildly irritating when applied to the skin of animals. It can also be slightly irritating when put directly into the eyes of animals.
Diethyl phthalate placed directly on the skin of rats daily for 2 years was not carcinogenic. Liver tumors were seen in mice that had diethyl phthalate placed directly on their skin daily for 2 years. This type of tumor is common in mice, and the smallest dose resulted in a similar number of tumors as the largest dose.
It is not clear if diethyl phthalate will cause a similar effect in humans. Other studies of cancer in humans or animals exposed to diethyl phthalate were not located.
The EPA requires that spills or accidental releases into the environment of 1,000 pounds or more of diethyl phthalate be reported to the EPA.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommend a maximum concentration of 5 milligrams of diethyl phthalate per cubic meter of air (5 mg/m³) in workplace air for an 8- to 10-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.
Little information is known about the health effects that might be caused by di-n-octylphthalate. It is not known what happens when you breathe or ingest the chemical.
Some rats and mice that were given very high doses of di-n-octylphthalate by mouth died. Mildly harmful effects have been seen in the livers of some rats and mice given very high doses of di-n-octylphthalate by mouth for short (14 days or less) or intermediate periods (15 to 365 days) of time, but lower doses given for short periods of time generally caused no harmful effects.
No information is available on the health effects of having di-n-octylphthalate in contact with human skin. It can be mildly irritating when applied to the skin of animals.
It is not known whether or not di-n-octylphthalate could affect the ability to have children, or if it could cause birth defects.
Di-n-octylphthalate is not known to cause cancer in humans or animals.
Di-n-octylphthalate has not been classified as to its carcinogenicity by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), or the EPA.
The EPA has recently determined that there is not enough evidence to say that di-n-octylphthalate causes harmful effects in humans or the environment.
The EPA requires that spills or accidental releases into the environment of 5,000 pounds or more of di-n-octylphthalate be reported to the EPA.
Di-n-butyl phthalate appears to have relatively low toxicity. Adverse effects have not been reported in humans as a result of exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate.
In laboratory animals, studies show that eating large amounts of di-n-butyl phthalate can affect their ability to reproduce. Sperm production can decrease, but returns to near normal levels when exposure stops. Large amounts of di-n-butyl phthalate repeatedly applied to the skin for a long time can cause mild irritation. We do not know if similar effects would occur in humans.
There have been no cancer studies in humans and the one study in laboratory animals is inadequate. The EPA has determined that di-n-butyl phthalate is not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity based on inadequate evidence in both humans and animals.
The EPA recommends that levels of di-n-butyl phthalate in lakes and streams should be limited to 34 parts of di-n-butyl phthalate per million parts of water (34 ppm) to prevent possible human health effects from drinking water or eating fish contaminated with this chemical.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit of 5 milligrams of di-n-butyl phthalate per cubic meter of workplace air (5 mg/m3) for 8 hour shifts and 40 hour work weeks.
The salt form of 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine may have caused sore throat, respiratory infections, stomach upset, headache, dizziness, caustic burns, and dermatitis (an inflammation of the skin) in workers exposed to the chemical. However, with the exception of dermatitis, it is not certain that 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine caused these effects because the workers were exposed to other chemicals at the same time.
Studies show that 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine caused cancer of the liver, skin, breast, bladder, and tissues that form blood (leukemia) and other organs in laboratory animals that ate it in their food. Studies in people are inconclusive.
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine and its salt form may reasonably be expected to be a carcinogen.
The EPA requires that spills or accidental releases into the environment of 1 pound or more of 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine be reported to the EPA.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considers 3,3'-dichlorobenzidine a "potential occupational carcinogen" and recommends workplace practices and controls to reduce exposures to the lowest possible level.
Waste discharges from Army ammunitions plants or other chemical manufacturers are the primary sources for release of both compounds to air, water, and soil.
1,3-Dinitrobenzene and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene are suspected to cause similar health effects. Exposure to high concentrations of 1,3-dinitrobenzene can reduce the ability of blood to carry oxygen and can cause your skin to become bluish in color.
If you are exposed to 1,3-dinitrobenzene for a long time, you can develop a reduction (or loss) in the number of red blood cells (anemia). Other symptoms of 1,3-dinitrobenzene exposure include headache, nausea, and dizziness.
We do not know if there are any long-term health effects from exposure to 1,3-dinitrobenzene or 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene. We also do not know if these chemicals cause birth defects in humans.
Results of studies in animals show that effects of 1,3-di-nitrobenzene and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene on the blood are similar to the effects seen in people. Results from animal studies also show some other effects of 1,3-dinitrobenzene exposure, such as behavioral changes and male reproductive system damage.
We do not know if these compounds can cause birth defects in animals. We do not know if the effects seen in animals could also occur in people.
The EPA has determined that these compounds are not classifiable as to their carcinogenicity in humans. This is because the ability of these compounds to produce cancer has not been studied in humans or animals.
The EPA requires that spills or accidental releases into the environment of 100 pounds or more of 1,3-dinitrobenzene, and 10 pounds or more of 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, must be reported to the EPA.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates levels of 1,3-dinitrobenzene in the work-place. The maximum allowable amount of 1,3-dinitrobenzene in workroom air during an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, is 1 milligram per cubic meter (1 mg/m³).
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) also recommend an exposure limit of 1 mg/m³ 1,3-dinitrobenzene in workplace air over a 40-hour workweek.
