1.1 What is 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
1.3 How can 1,1,2-trichloroethane enter
and leave my body? |
1.4 How can 1,1,2-trichloroethane affect
my health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
1.6 What levels of exposure have resulted
in harmful health effects? |
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 1989 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
1,1,2-Trichloroethane |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 1,1,2-trichloroethane. 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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1.1
What is 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
1,1,2-Trichloroethane is a colorless,
sweet-smelling liquid that does not burn easily and boils
at a higher temperature than water. It is made by two companies
in the United States. It is used mostly where 1,1-dichloroethene
(vinylidene chloride) is made. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane is used
as a solvent. Because information about how much is made and
how it is used is not available, we cannot say how much 1,1,2-trichloroethane
is used, where it is used, or in what products it is found.
1,1,2-Trichloroethane may also be formed
in landfills when 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane is broken down.
When it is released into the environment, most 1,1,2-trichloroethane
finally ends up in the air, but some may enter groundwater.
Breakdown in both the air and groundwater is slow.
In the air, half the 1,1,2-trichloroethane
is expected to breakdown in 49 days, and so it is likely to
spread far from where it is released before breaking down.
A few studies show that 1,1,2-trichloroethane below the soil
surface or in groundwater does not breakdown within 16 weeks,
and other studies suggest that it will last for years. Some
studies show that breakdown of 1,1,2-trichloroethane occurs
in landfills, but how fast this happens is not known.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
Low levels of 1,1,2-trichloroethane may
be found in outdoor air. The main source of this 1,1,2-trichloroethane
is thought to be industries that use it as a solvent. Because
the industries that produce 1,1,2-trichloroethane or use it
to make other chemicals often recycle or burn their waste,
releases of 1,1,2-trichloroethane by these industries should
not be major sources of pollution.
From surveys of industrial wastewater,
we learn that some of the industries that discharge 1,1,2-trichloroethane
are the timber products industry, plastics and synthetics
industry, and laundries. Limited data show that 1,1,2-trichloroethane
is present in a quarter to a half of city air samples. Where
1,1,2-trichloroethane is found, the samples tested usually
contain 10 to 50 parts of 1,1,2-trichloroethane per trillion
parts of air (ppt).
Though exposure to contaminated drinking
water taken from groundwater sources is possible, such exposure
appears to be rare. A nationwide survey did not find 1,1,2-trichloroethane
in drinking water, but well water in some areas has been found
to contain it. Surveys found 1,1,2-trichloroethane in well
water in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Suffolk
County, New York. The largest amount in these supplies was
31 parts of 1,1,2-trichloroethane per one billion parts of
water (ppb).
1,1,2-Trichloroethane has not been reported
in food or soil. Besides the air and drinking water sources,
people may be exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane from spills
and in the workplace, where it may be used as a solvent. Exposure
would most likely be from breathing vapors of the chemical
or from skin contact.
When a chemical like 1,1,2-trichloroethane
is utilized to make other chemicals, it is usually used in
tightly closed automatic systems, so that workers are not
usually exposed to high levels of it. A national survey conducted
in 1981-1983 estimated that 1,036 workers were exposed to
1,1,2-trichloroethane. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane has been found
thus far at 45 of 1,177 hazardous waste sites on the National
Priorities List (NPL) in the United States. Landfill gases
from these sites may contain 1,1,2-trichloroethane.
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1.3
How can 1,1,2-trichloroethane enter and leave my body? |
1,1,2-Trichloroethane can enter the body
when a person breathes air containing 1,1,2-trichloroethane,
or when a person drinks water containing this compound. It
can also enter the body through the skin. After it enters
the body, it is carried by the blood to organs and tissues
such as the liver, kidney, brain, heart, spleen, and fat.
Experiments in which animals were given
1,1,2-trichloroethane by mouth have shown that most 1,1,2-trichloroethane
leaves the body unchanged in the breath and as other substances
that it was changed into in the urine in about 1 day. Very
little stays in the body more than 2 days.
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1.4
How can 1,1,2-trichloroethane affect my health? |
1,1,2-Trichloroethane can cause temporary
stinging and burning pain on the skin when humans touch it.
There is no other information on the health effects of 1,1,2-trichloroethane
in humans.
Most of what we know about the health
effects of this chemical comes from experiments in animals.
As is true with most chemicals, a large amount of 1,1,2-trichloroethane
produces more damage than a small amount. Short-term exposure
to high levels of 1,1,2-trichloroethane in air or high doses
given by mouth or applied to the skin has caused death in
animals.
Long-term exposure of animals to high
doses given by mouth has also shortened the lifespan. These
levels and doses are much higher than would be found in the
air, water, or food to which humans might be exposed. Breathing
high levels in air can affect the nervous system and cause
sleepiness. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane may also affect the liver,
kidney, and digestive tract, produce skin irritation, and
affect the body's ability to fight infections. Mice, but not
rats, that were given high doses of 1,1,2-trichloroethane
by mouth for most of their life developed liver cancer, but
we do not know whether humans exposed to this chemical would
develop cancer. From the limited information available in
animals, it appears that 1,1,2-trichloroethane does not cause
birth defects or otherwise inhibit normal development.
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1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 1,1,2-trichloroethane? |
Although chemists have ways of measuring
some chemicals in body fluids, there is no commonly used medical
test to find out whether a person has been exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane.
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1.6
What levels of exposure have resulted in harmful health effects? |
It is not known what levels of 1,1,2-trichloroethane
cause harmful health effects in people. In animals, liver
effects, central nervous system depression, and death occurred
at levels greater than 416 parts per million (ppm) 1,1,2-trichloroethane
in air. At levels of 200 ppm in water, effects on the immune
system and liver were seen.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The EPA has set a limit of 0.005 milligrams
of 1,1,2-trichloroethane per liter of drinking water (0.005
mg/L). Discharges, spills, or accidental releases of
100 pounds or more of 1,1,2-trichloroethane must be reported
to the EPA.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 45 milligrams
1,1,2-trichloroethane per cubic meter of air (45 mg/m³)
for an 8-hour workday in a 40-hour workweek.
The federal recommendations have 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 |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1989. Toxicological
profile for 1,1,2-trichloroethane. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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