| Comments |
The classic hepatotoxic chemical is carbon tetrachloride. Symptoms similar to those of viral hepatitis develop usually within 24-48 hours of a heavy exposure. A number of other organic solvents have also caused acute hepatitis in the occupational setting including: 2-Nitropropane, Ethylene dichloride, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane, Propylene dichloride, Carbon tetrabromide, Acetylene tetrabromide, Ethylene dibromide, Hexachloronaphthalene, Dimethylformamide, Tetrahydrofuran, and Dimethyl acetamide. Also reported to cause acute hepatitis after work exposure are 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene, a nitosamine (N-Nitrosodimethylamine), and halowaxes (Octachloronaphthalene, Pentachloronaphthalene, Tetrachloronaphthalene, and Trichloronaphthalene). A small epidemic of cholestatic jaundice caused by MDA (4,4'-methylenedianiline) was reported in the 1960s when 84 people became jaundiced after eating bread made from flour contaminated by the chemical. There have been a few case reports of workers developing hepatitis after occupational exposure to MDA. "The nonsubstituted alkanes, olefins, aromatic compounds, and cycloparaffins cause little or no significant liver damage." Examples include cyclopropane, cyclohexane, gasoline, n-heptane, n-hexane, and turpentine. [Zimmerman, p. 367, 372] |
|---|
