1.1 What is 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
1.3 How can 1,2-diphenylhydrazine enter
and leave my body? |
1.4 How can 1,2-diphenylhydrazine affect
my health? |
1.5 What levels of exposure have resulted
in harmful health effects? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
1.7 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.8 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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December 1990 |
Public Health Statement |
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1,2-Diphenylhydrazine |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 1,2-diphenylhydrazine. 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.
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This Statement was prepared to give you
information about 1,2-diphenylhydrazine 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-Diphenylhydrazine
has been found at seven of these sites. However, we do not
know how many of the 1,177 NPL sites have been evaluated for
1,2-diphenylhydrazine. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number
of site at which 1,2-diphenylhydrazine is found may change.
The information is important for you because 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are
potential or actual sources of human exposure to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine.
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 it.
If you are exposed to a hazardous substance
such as 1,2-diphenylhydrazine 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, life style, and state
of health.
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1.1
What is 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
1,2-Diphenylhydrazine is a white solid.
It dissolves only slightly in water and does not change into
a gas unless it is heated to very high temperatures. It sticks
to soil and can be carried into the air along with windblown
dust. Once in water or exposed to air it is changed into other
chemicals within minutes. These chemicals include the toxic
chemicals azobenzene and benzidine.
1,2-Diphenylhydrazine is used to make
fabric dyes in other countries, and to make certain medicines.
There are no other major anthropogenic or natural sources
of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
1,2-Diphenylhydrazine does not dissolve
in water easily and reacts quickly when present in water.
Therefore, it is extremely unlikely that you would be exposed
to it by drinking water. Also, 1,2-diphenylhydrazine does
not change to a gas at normal outside temperatures. Therefore,
it is extremely unlikely that you would be exposed to it by
breathing air even if you live near a hazardous waste site.
Because 1,2-diphenylhydrazine may stick to soil, it is possible
that you could breathe in dust coated with 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
if you entered a hazardous waste site in which it had been
recently spilled on the ground. It is also possible that children
playing at this hazardous waste site could be exposed by eating
dirt or smearing dirt on their skin. It would have to be a
site in which the 1,2-diphenylhydrazine was recently spilled
on the ground, since once exposed to air, 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
changes into other substances within minutes.
You also could be exposed to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
if you work in an industry in which it is used. For example,
while working, you could be exposed to dust containing 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
when it is moved from one place to another. It has not been
found in food or in air or natural soils. If 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
exists at all in lakes or streams, it is probably at levels
that are less than 1 part 1,2-diphenylhydrazine in 1,000,000
parts water (1 ppm).
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1.3
How can 1,2-diphenylhydrazine enter and leave my body? |
If you were to breathe in dust coated
with 1,2-diphenylhydrazine you would probably breathe out
most of it within a few minutes; however, some of it might
enter your body. Also, if you were to eat dust or dirt coated
with 1,2-diphenylhydrazine, some of it might enter your body.
However, we do not know how much or how long it would take
for the 1,2-diphenylhydrazine that you breathe in or eat to
enter your body. It is not known if 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
would enter your body if you were to spill it on your skin
or if you were to get dirt coated with it on your skin. Some,
maybe most of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine that enters your body
leaves your body in the urine. It is not known how long it
takes for 1,2-diphenylhydrazine to leave the body in the urine.
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1.4
How can 1,2-diphenylhydrazine affect my health? |
It is not known if 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
would affect your health if you were to breathe it in or eat
it. The health effects of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine in humans
have not been studied. Animals die if they swallow large amounts
of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine and develop liver disease if they
eat small amounts of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine for more than a
year. Therefore, it is possible that if you were to eat large
amounts of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine for a long time you might
experience liver damage or die.
It is not known whether 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
would harm you if you were to spill it on you skin. It is
not known if 1,2-diphenylhydrazine causes birth defects or
affects fertility. It is not known if 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
causes cancer in humans; however, it has been shown to cause
cancer in rats and mice that have eaten it in food for most
of their lifetime. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has determined 1,2-diphenylhydrazine to be a
probable human carcinogen.
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1.5
What levels of exposure have resulted in harmful health effects? |
It is not known what levels of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
result in harmful health effects in people or animals.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine? |
There is no test to determine if you
have been exposed to 1,2-diphenylhydrazine.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The EPA recommends that levels of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine
in lakes and streams should be limited to 0.041 parts per
billion (0.041 ppb) to prevent possible human health effects
from drinking water or eating fish contaminated with this
chemical. Any release to the environment greater than 10 pounds
of 1,2-diphenylhydrazine must be reported to the EPA.
The federal recommendations hav been
updated as of July 1999.
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1.8 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
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References
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Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1990. Toxicological
profile for 1,2-diphenylhydrazine. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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