1.1 What is 1,2-dibromoethane? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane? |
1.3 How can 1,2-dibromoethane enter and
leave my body? |
1.4 How can 1,2-dibromoethane affect my
health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane? |
1.6 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.7 Where can I get more information? |
References |
|
|
|
July 1992 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
1,2-Dibromoethane |
|
|
|
This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 1,2-dibromoethane. It is one in a series of
Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their
health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,
is also available. This information is important because this
substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous
substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed,
personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are
present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information
Center at 1-888-422-8737.
|
|
|
This Statement was prepared to give you
information about 1,2-dibromoethane (ethylene dibromide, EDB)
and to emphasize the human health effects that may result
from exposure to it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has identified 1,177 sites on its National Priorities List
(NPL). 1,2-Dibromoethane has been found at 9 of these sites.
However, we do not know how many of the 1,177 NPL sites have
been evaluated for 1,2-dibromoethane. As EPA evaluates more
sites, the number of sites at which 1,2-dibromoethane is found
may change. The information is important to you because 1,2-dibromoethane
may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are
potential or actual sources of human exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane.
When a chemical is released from a large
area such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such
as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment as a chemical
emission. This emission, which is also called a release, does
not always lead to exposure. You can be exposed to a chemical
only when you come into contact with the chemical. You may
be exposed to it in the environment by breathing, eating,
or drinking substances containing the chemical or from skin
contact with the chemical.
If you are exposed to a hazardous substance
such as 1,2-dibromoethane, several factors will determine
whether harmful health effects will occur and what the type
and severity of those health effects will be. These factors
include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), the
route or pathway by which you are exposed (breathing, eating,
drinking, or skin contact), the other chemicals to which you
are exposed, and your individual characteristics such as age,
sex, nutritional status, family traits, lifestyle, and state
of health.
|
|
1.1
What is 1,2-dibromoethane? |
1,2-Dibromoethane is a pesticide and
gasoline additive. It is mostly man-made, but it may occur
naturally in the ocean in very small amounts. In the 1970s
and early 1980s, it was used in soil to kill insects and worms
that get on fruits, vegetables, and grain crops. It was also
used in soil to protect grass, such as on golf courses. Another
use was to kill fruit flies on citrus fruits, mangoes, and
papayas after they were picked. EPA stopped most of these
uses in 1984. 1,2-Dibromoethane is added to leaded gasoline
to produce better fuel efficiency. Because use of leaded gasoline
has fallen, less 1,2-dibromoethane is made for this use. The
chemical is a colorless liquid with a mild, sweet odor. It
evaporates easily and can dissolve in water. 1,2-Dibromoethane
stays in groundwater and in soil for a long time but breaks
down quickly in the air.
|
back to top |
|
1.2
How might I be exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane? |
You can be exposed to low levels of 1,2-dibromoethane
in drinking water (especially well water) and in air. Before
EPA stopped the use of 1,2-dibromoethane as a pesticide, the
most common way you would have been exposed was by eating
food that had very small amounts of this chemical in it. You
could still be exposed to low levels of 1,2-dibromoethane,
particularly from groundwater (well water), in areas where
the chemical was used in farming or from hazardous waste sites.
Most of the 1,2-dibromoethane that enters the soil will get
into the groundwater or evaporate into the air. Small amounts
can remain in very tiny particles in soil near hazardous waste
sites or in areas once used as farmland. The compound may
be released from these particles slowly over time or if the
soil is crushed or disturbed. You can be exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane
in the air near production plants. Background levels in the
environment are very low. The air most people breathe contains
between 0.01-0.06 parts of 1,2-dibromoethane per billion parts
of air (ppb). Because 1,2-dibromoethane easily evaporates,
most surface waters do not contain detectable amounts. Groundwater
is more likely to contain 1,2-dibromoethane with an average
concentration of about 0.9 ppb. In foods, 1,2-dibromoethane
has recently been found in 2 out of 549 samples at concentrations
of 2 and 11 ppb. There is no information on background levels
in surface water or soil. If you applied 1,2-dibromoethane
on a farm or golf course, if you worked to pack fruits gassed
with 1,2-dibromoethane, or if you worked in a factory that
made 1,2-dibromoethane, you could be exposed to much higher
than background levels.
|
back to top |
|
1.3
How can 1,2-dibromoethane enter and leave my body? |
1,2-Dibromoethane can enter your body
after you eat or drink contaminated food and water. It can
also enter your body through your skin when you bathe or swim
in contaminated water. The 1,2-dibromoethane inside tiny soil
particles may enter your body if you crush or eat contaminated
soil. The chemical can enter your nose and lungs when you
breathe air that contains 1,2-dibromoethane or when you shower
with water that is contaminated. Near hazardous waste sites
or near areas that once were farmed, the most likely way that
you will be exposed is by drinking contaminated groundwater.
1,2-Dibromoethane will be rapidly taken into your bloodstream
by any method of exposure. Most of it builds up in your liver
and kidneys where it is rapidly broken down to different substances.
These substances leave your body quickly in the urine, and
smaller amounts are passed in liver bile into the stool. Small
amounts of 1,2-dibromoethane that are not broken down can
be breathed out of your lungs.
|
back to top |
|
1.4
How can 1,2-dibromoethane affect my health? |
The effects of breathing high levels
of 1,2-dibromoethane in humans are unknown. Studies in animals
show that they can die from breathing high concentrations
of 1,2-dibromoethane for a short time while lower concentrations
can cause liver and kidney damage. You can die if you swallow
or have skin contact with large quantities of 1,2-dibromoethane.
A woman who drank 40 milliliters (mL) of pure liquid 1,2-dibromoethane
died within a day. Changes in the liver and kidney are reported
in humans that died of ingestion of 1,2-dibromoethane. People
who tried to commit suicide by swallowing concentrated 1,2-dibromoethane
got ulcers inside their mouth and stomach. Laboratory rats
and mice fed less-concentrated 1,2-dibromoethane for as little
as 2 weeks had damage to the lining of their stomach. If you
spill liquid 1,2-dibromoethane on your skin, you can get blisters.
Breathing 1,2-dibromoethane for moderately
long periods damages the lining of the nose in rats. This
effect has not been seen in humans. Animals that breathed
or ate food containing 1,2-dibromoethane for short or long
periods were less fertile or had abnormal sperms. Changes
in the brain and behavior have occurred in young rats whose
male parents had breathed 1,2-dibromoethane.
A worker who breathed 1,2-dibromoethane
for several years developed bronchitis, headache, and depression,
but his health improved after he stopped breathing air contaminated
with 1,2-dibromoethane. 1,2-Dibromoethane is not known to
cause birth defects in people. It can impair reproduction
in males by damaging sperms in testicles. This type of damage
has been seen in workers exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane for
several years. Pregnant animals that are sick from exposure
to 1,2-dibromoethane have had pups with birth defects. There
are no reports of cancer in workers or other people exposed
to 1,2-dibromoethane for several years. Rats and mice that
repeatedly breathed, swallowed, or had skin contact with 1,2-dibromoethane
for long periods had cancer in many organs.
|
back to top |
|
1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 1,2-dibromoethane? |
There is no known reliable medical test
to determine whether you have been exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane.
|
back to top |
|
1.6
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government has set standards
and guidelines to protect people from the potential health
effects of 1,2-dibromoethane in drinking water, food, and
air. EPA recommends that drinking water for children should
have no more than 0.008 ppm of 1,2-dibromoethane. EPA does
not allow any 1,2-dibromoethane to be in food. Companies must
report to EPA if they spill 1,000 pounds or more of 1,2-dibromoethane.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration
(OSHA) has limited workers' exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane
in air to an average of 20 ppm for an 8-hour workday. According
to OSHA, short-term exposure of 15 minutes to 1,2-dibromoethane
should not be more than 0.5 ppm. The National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has set an average
limit for 1,2-dibromoethane of 0.045 ppm in workroom air during
an 8-hour day. According to NIOSH, short-term exposure of
15 minutes to 1,2-dibromoethane should not be more than 0.13
ppm.
|
back to top |
|
1.7
Where can I get more information? |
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact
your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737
FAX: (770)-488-4178
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health
clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses
resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000
|
back to top |
|
References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1992. Toxicological
profile for 1,2-dibromoethane. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
|
back to top |
|
|
|