1.1 What are jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8? |
1.2 What happens to jet fuels JP-5 and
JP-8 when they enter the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to jet fuels
JP-5 and JP-8? |
1.4 How can jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 enter
and leave my body? |
1.5 How can jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 affect
my health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8? |
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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August 1998 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Jet Fuels JP-5 and JP-8 |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8. 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 public health statement tells you
about the jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 and the effects of exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
identifies the most hazardous waste sites in the nation.
These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and
are the sites targeted for long-term federal cleanup activities.
JP-5 and JP-8 have been found in at least 22 of the 1,445
current or former NPL sites. However, the total number
of NPL sites evaluated for this substance is not known.
As more sites are evaluated, the sites at which JP-5 and JP-8
are found may increase. This information is important
because exposure to these substances may harm you and because
these sites may be sources of exposure.
When a substance 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. This
release does not always lead to exposure. You are exposed
to a substance only when you come in contact with it.
You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance
or by skin contact.
If you are exposed to JP-5 and JP-8,
many factors determine whether you'll be harmed. These
factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long),
and how you come in contact with it. You must also consider
the other chemicals you're exposed to and your age, sex, diet,
family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1
What are jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8? |
Propellants are substances that move
other objects or give thrust. JP-5 and JP-8 stand for
jet propellant–5 and jet propellant–8. They are used
by the military as aircraft fuels. JP-5 is the U.S.
Navy's primary jet fuel, and JP-8 is one of the jet fuels
used by the U.S. Air Force. Both JP-5 and JP-8 are colorless
liquids and smell like kerosene. Kerosene is the primary
substance in each. Although JP-5 and JP-8 are liquids
at room temperature, they can also change into gas vapor.
Both JP-5 and JP-8 are flammable. JP-5 and JP-8 can
be made from refining crude petroleum oil deposits found underground
and under the ocean floor. They can also be made from
shale oil found in rock. Because kerosene (which is
also referred to as fuel oil no. 1) is the main part of JP-5
and JP-8, the profile sometimes uses the word kerosene and
other names that it can be called instead of the words JP-5
and JP-8. In addition to kerosene, both JP-5 and JP-8
contain various additives according to standards specified
by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Other common names
for JP-5, JP-8, and kerosene are these:
- fuel oil no. 1
- straight-run kerosene
- kerosine
- range oil
- Deobase (the trade name of a clear, white, deodorized
kerosene)
- coal oil
In this profile, JP-5 and JP-8 are discussed
together.
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1.2
What happens to jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 when they enter the
environment? |
JP-5 and JP-8 are made up of many different
substances. Some of these chemicals easily evaporate
into the air when jet fuels are spilled accidentally onto
soils or surface waters (for example, streams, rivers, lakes,
or oceans). Other chemical parts of JP-5 and JP-8 are
more likely to dissolve in water following spills to surface
waters or leaks from underground storage tanks. Some
of the chemicals in jet fuels may slowly move down through
the soil to the groundwater. Another group of chemicals
in jet fuels readily attach to particles in the soil or water.
Once attached in water, these particles may sink down into
the sediment. The chemicals that evaporate may break
down into other substances in air by reacting with sunlight
("photooxidize") or other chemicals in the air. The
chemicals that dissolve in water may also be broken down into
other substances by living organisms (primarily bacteria and
fungi) in the soil or water. However, this may take
many years to occur, depending on the environmental conditions.
The breakdown products of JP-5 and JP-8 are not known, so
it is not known whether they are toxic. Some chemicals
that attach to soil or other matter (for example, marsh sediment)
may remain in the environment for more than a decade.
Although they make up only a tiny fraction of JP-5 and JP-8,
benzene, toluene, and xylenes (single-ring aromatic compounds),
as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are the components
of JP-5 and JP-8 about which we have the greatest amount of
information. These substances are toxic to humans.
You can find this information in the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) toxicological profiles for
these specific chemicals.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8? |
It is unlikely that you will be exposed
to JP-5 or JP-8 unless you work with jet fuels or live very
close to where they are used or spilled. Exposure to
JP-5 or JP-8 can occur if you have skin contact with soil
or water contaminated from a spill or leak. You may
also be exposed to JP-5 or JP-8 if you swim in waters where
jet fuels have been spilled. If jet fuels have leaked
from underground storage tanks and entered underground water,
you may drink contaminated water from a well containing JP-5
or JP-8. You might breathe in some of the chemicals
evaporating from a spill or leak site if you are in an area
where an accident has occurred. Exposure to some of
the components of JP-5 and JP-8 might occur from air releases
if these components settle to the ground near populated areas.
There are no data on the background levels of JP-5 and JP-8
that may be found in the environment.
Workers involved in making or transporting
jet fuels or in refueling military aircraft that use JP-5
or JP-8 might breathe air containing these substances.
Some workers may be exposed to JP-5 or JP-8 through their
skin if they come into contact with them without adequate
protection from gloves, boots, coveralls, or other protective
clothing.
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1.4
How can jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 enter and leave my body? |
JP-5 and JP-8 can enter and leave your
body when you breathe them in the air, when you drink water
or eat food containing them, and when your skin comes into
contact with them. This can occur in the workplace or
if you live near a facility where these fuels are made or
near a military base. When you use kerosene or heating
oil, you are exposed to some of the same substances that are
found in JP-5 and JP-8. We do not know how much of these
compounds might be taken up by your body if you inhale JP-5
and JP-8 vapor, drink contaminated water, or come in contact
with JP-5 or JP-8. We have no information on what happens
to these chemical mixtures once they enter your body.
We do know that when animals were exposed to kerosene, small
amounts were found in their brains, lungs, livers, spleens,
and kidneys. It is not known whether kerosene would
be found in these parts of the body in similarly exposed people.
We do not know if JP-5 and JP-8 are broken down and leave
the body primarily in the urine or the feces. The toxicological
properties of JP-5 and JP-8 are very dependent upon the crude
stock and batch lot. These compounds are complex and
varied mixtures, and their composition may affect their toxicity.
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1.5
How can jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8 affect my health? |
We know very little about the human health
effects caused by JP-5 and JP-8, but some health effects might
be predicted because of what we know about kerosene, the main
chemical substance in these jet fuel mixtures. Many
things will determine if you will be harmed by exposure to
these substances, including how much you were exposed to;
how long you were exposed; how you came in contact with them;
and your age, sex, diet, family traits, and other factors
described in the beginning of this section. Breathing
in large amounts of JP-5 or JP-8 vapors or aerosol for a short
time would cause you to have a suffocating feeling, and breathing
would be painful. Numerous case studies have reported
accidental poisoning in children as the result of drinking
kerosene. Drinking kerosene may cause vomiting, diarrhea,
swelling of the stomach, stomach cramps, drowsiness, restlessness,
irritability, and loss of consciousness. Coughing, pneumonia,
and difficult or painful breathing after drinking kerosene
suggest that kerosene has entered the lungs. In addition,
drinking large amounts of kerosene can put you into a coma,
cause convulsions, and may even cause death. When kerosene
gets on your skin for short periods, it can make your skin
itchy, red, and sore. Sometimes blisters may occur and
your skin may peel.
Breathing kerosene or JP-5 vapors can
also affect your nervous system. Some of the effects
that have been noted in case studies include headache, lightheadedness,
anorexia (loss of appetite), poor coordination, and difficulty
concentrating.
To protect the public from the harmful
effects of toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people
who have been harmed, scientists use many tests.
One way to see if a chemical will hurt
people is to learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and
released by the body; for some chemicals, animal testing may
be necessary. Animal testing may also be used to identify
health effects such as cancer or birth defects. Without
laboratory animals, scientists would lose a basic method to
get information needed to make wise decisions to protect public
health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat
research animals with care and compassion. Laws today
protect the welfare of research animals, and scientists must
comply with strict animal care guidelines.
Repeated contact with fuels such as JP-5
and JP-8 can cause skin cancer in mice. We do not know
if JP-5 and JP-8 can cause cancer in humans. The International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has concluded there is
not enough information available to determine if jet fuels
or distillate (light) jet fuels cause cancer (Group 3 classification).
However, IARC has determined that occupational exposures during
petroleum refining are probably carcinogenic to humans (Group
2A classification). Exposure during petroleum refining
includes exposures to substances that are not found in JP-5
and JP-8. We do not know if JP-5 or JP-8 can cause birth
defects or if they affect reproduction.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8? |
No medical test shows if you have been
exposed to JP-5 or JP-8. Methods are available to determine
if your blood contains JP-5 and JP-8 components such as benzene,
toluene, and xylenes. However, the concentrations of
these chemicals in fuels such as JP-5 and JP-8 are very low,
and if they were detected in your blood it might not necessarily
indicate that you had been exposed specifically to JP-5 and/or
JP-8. In this case, it would be helpful for your doctor
to know whether you might have been exposed to other chemicals.
For information on tests for measuring exposure to individual
components of JP-5 and JP-8, see the ATSDR toxicological profiles
on benzene, toluene, xylenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government develops regulations
and recommendations to protect public health. Regulations
can be enforced by law. Federal agencies that develop
regulations for toxic substances include the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). Recommendations provide valuable guidelines to
protect public health but cannot be enforced by law.
Federal organizations that develop recommendations for toxic
substances include the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) and the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Regulations and recommendations can be
expressed in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or
food that are usually based on levels that affect animals;
then they are adjusted to help protect people. Sometimes
these not-to-exceed levels differ among federal organizations
because of different exposure times (an 8-hour workday or
a 24-hour day), the use of different animal studies, or other
factors.
Recommendations and regulations are also
periodically updated as more information becomes available.
For the most current information, check with the federal agency
or organization that provides it. Some regulations and
recommendations for JP-5 and JP-8 include the following:
The Department of Transportation regulates
the transport of jet fuels such as JP-5 and JP-8 because they
are classified as hazardous materials that are considered
to pose a risk to health, safety, or property when moved.
OSHA and the Air Force Office of Safety and Health (AFOSH)
regulate levels of petroleum products in private sector workplaces
and in Air Force workplaces, respectively. The maximum
allowable amount of petroleum products in workroom air during
an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, is 400 milligrams per
cubic meter (mg/m3). ATSDR has derived an intermediate-duration
inhalation minimal risk level (MRL) of 3 mg/m³
for JP-5 and JP-8. An MRL is an estimate of daily human
exposure to a substance over a specific period that is likely
to be without an appreciable risk of adverse effects (noncarcinogenic).
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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). 1998. Toxicological
profile for jet fuels JP-5 and JP-8. Atlanta, GA: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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