1.1 What is 1,2-dichloropropane? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane? |
1.3 How can 1,2-dichloropropane enter
and leave my body? |
1.4 How can 1,2-dichloropropane affect
my health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane? |
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 |
1,2-Dichloropropane |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 1,2-dichloropropane. 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 1,2-dichloropropane? |
1,2-Dichloropropane is a colorless liquid
belonging to a class of chemicals called volatile organic
compounds (VOCs). It has a chloroform-like odor and evaporates
quickly at room temperature. It is a man-made chemical and
people are probably responsible for all releases of 1,2-dichloropropane
into the environment. 1,2-Dichloropropane is now used in the
United States only in research and industry.
Before the early 1980s, 1,2-dichloropropane
was used in farming as a soil fumigant and was found in some
paint strippers, varnishes, and furniture finish removers.
Most of the 1,2-dichloropropane released into the environment
finally ends up in the air or groundwater.
When applied to soil in one experiment,
all but 1% dispersed in 10 days. Breakdown in both the air
and groundwater is slow. The rate at which a chemical breaks
down is usually explained by how long it takes for half the
chemical to disappear (half-life). The half-life of 1,2-dichloropropane
in air is not known exactly, but it is longer than 23 days,
which means that 1,2-dichloropropane can spread to areas far
from where it is released. In groundwater, the half-life of
1,2-dichloropropane is estimated to be between 6 months and
2 years.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane? |
Air levels of 1,2-dichloropropane are
usually quite low. In city areas of the United States, the
average amount in air is about 22 parts per trillion (ppt).
1,2-Dichloropropane is found in a few drinking water supplies,
and most of those are from groundwater sources. A nationwide
survey of groundwater supplies showed that 1.4% of these supplies
contained 1,2-dichloropropane levels at around 1 part per
billion (ppb). The highest amount of 1,2-dichloropropane in
the survey was 21 ppb. Private wells in farming areas where
1,2-dichloropropane was once used as a soil fumigant have
the greatest risk for contamination.
Occupational exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane
may result during its production, its use in chemical reactions
and as an industrial solvent, and evaporation from wastewater
that contains the chemical. Workers involved in cleaning up
hazardous waste or spill sites that contain 1,2-dichloropropane
may also be exposed. A national survey conducted by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1981-1983
estimated that 2119 workers outside of the farming sector
were exposed to 1,2-dichloropropane.
Use of this chemical has recently decreased
very much, however, so that the number of exposed workers
may now be much lower. According to industry spokesmen, levels
of exposure among exposed workers range from less than 1 part
per million (ppm) to less than 25 ppm, depending on the industry.
1,2-Dichloropropane was found in 26 of the 1177 hazardous
waste sites on the National Priority List (NPL) and gases
from these sites may contain low levels of 1,2-dichloropropane.
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1.3
How can 1,2-dichloropropane enter and leave my body? |
1,2-Dichloropropane can enter the body
if a person breathes air or drinks water contaminated with
it, or if a person's skin comes in contact with it. If 1,2-dichloropropane
is present at a waste site near homes that use wells as a
source of water, the well water could be contaminated. A route
of major exposure in the past was by accidentally or intentionally
drinking cleaning products that contained 1,2-dichloropropane,
but these cleaning materials are no longer produced in the
United States.
Experiments with animals have shown that
when 1,2-dichloropropane enters the body through eating or
drinking, it is quickly removed in the urine and feces and
by the lungs when the animal breathes out. 1,2-Dichloropropane
may enter the lungs of workers exposed where it is used indoors
as a solvent.
If 1,2-dichloropropane is released at
a waste site and evaporates into the air, a person may breathe
in 1,2-dichloropropane for a short time before it disperses.
When the chemical was a part of some paint strippers, varnishes,
and furniture finish removers, exposure of the skin through
contact with these products occurred; however, the amount
of 1,2-dichloropropane that entered through the skin is unknown.
Soil around a waste site may be contaminated with 1,2-dichloropropane,
but it is not known how much 1,2-dichloropropane enters the
body through the skin upon contact with contaminated soil.
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1.4
How can 1,2-dichloropropane affect my health? |
Drinking 1,2-dichloropropane by humans
(i.e., drinking cleaning solutions) has produced poisoning.
At these high levels of exposure, effects include dizziness,
headache, nausea, injury to the liver and kidneys, anemia,
coma and, ultimately, death. Breathing high levels of
1,2-dichloropropane by humans, as in deliberate breathing
of vapors from cleaning solutions, produces similar effects.
No reports have been made of any health effects in humans
following low-level exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane for either
short or long time periods.
In animal experiments, low amounts of
1,2-dichloropropane breathed in over short- and long-term
periods result in damage to the liver, kidney, and respiratory
systems, while high amounts resulted in death. Short-term
exposure to high levels of vapors also causes irritation to
the eyes and throat. When 1,2-dichloropropane is given by
mouth to animals over shorter long-term periods, damage to
the liver and kidneys is seen at low doses, and death occurs
at high doses.
1,2-Dichloropropane breathed or eaten
for a short time has not been reported to produce cancer in
humans, but long-term exposure by mouth in animals has produced
evidence of liver cancer in mice and breast cancer in female
rats. The significance of the animal cancer studies to humans
is not well understood. Irritation of the skin after contact
with 1,2-dichloropropane has been seen in both humans and
rabbits.
1,2-Dichloropropane has not been shown
to cause birth defects in humans or animals, but a delay in
the growth of bones has been seen in fetal rats following
exposure of the mother rats.
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1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 1,2-dichloropropane? |
Tests are available to detect 1,2-dichloropropane
in the urine and the blood. The available methods can predict
the concentration of 1,2-dichloropropane in the air from levels
in the urine, but not from levels in the blood. The levels
of 1,2-dichloropropane in the urine, however, cannot predict
specific health effects. The method for testing the urine
is simple, but because special equipment is needed, the test
is not yet routinely available. Because 1,2-dichloropropane
leaves the body quickly, it is best to test for it soon after
exposure.
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1.6
What levels of exposure have resulted in harmful health effects? |
Information is not available on the levels
of 1,2-dichloropropane that have resulted in harmful effects
in people. In animals, high levels (greater than 400 ppm)
in air have resulted in death and lower levels in air have
resulted in anemia and respiratory damage. Animals that ate
1,2-dichloropropane for short-term exposures at levels ranging
from 2,000 to 10,000 ppm showed effects on the central nervous
system, weight loss, anemia, and liver and testicular damage.
These same effects were noted in animals from long-term exposure
to 960 to 5,000 ppm 1,2-dichloropropane in food.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The EPA has set a Maximum Contaminant
Level (MCL) of 0.005 parts per million (0.005 ppm) for 1,2-dichloropropane
in drinking water. The EPA recommends that the level
of 1,2-dichloropropane in lakes and streams should be limited
to 0.52 parts per billion (0.52 ppb) to prevent possible human
health effects from drinking contaminated water or eating
contaminated fish. Any release to the environment greater
than 1,000 pounds of 1,2-dichloropropane must be reported
to the EPA.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) set a workplace air concentration limit of 75 ppm for
an 8-hour workday, 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 1,2-dichloropropane. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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