1.1 What is toxaphene? |
1.2 What happens to toxaphene when it
enters the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to toxaphene? |
1.4 How can toxaphene enter and leave
my body? |
1.5 How can toxaphene affect my health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to toxaphene? |
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 1996 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Toxaphene |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for toxaphene. 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 toxaphene and the effects of exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
identifies the most serious 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.
Toxaphene has been found in at least 58 of the 1,430 current
or former NPL sites. However, it's unknown how many NPL sites
have been evaluated for this substance. As more sites are
evaluated, the sites with toxaphene may increase. This
information is important because exposure to this substance
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 toxaphene, 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 is toxaphene? |
Toxaphene, also known as camphechlor,
chlorocamphene, polychlorocamphene, and chlorinated camphene,
is a manufactured insecticide containing over 670 chemicals.
Toxaphene is usually found as a solid or gas. In its original
form, toxaphene is a yellow to amber waxy solid that smells
like turpentine. It does not burn and evaporates when in solid
form or when mixed with liquids.
Toxaphene was one of the most heavily
used insecticides in the United States until 1982. It was
used primarily in the southern United States to control insect
pests on cotton and other crops. Toxaphene was also used to
control insect pests on livestock and to kill unwanted fish
in lakes
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1.2
What happens to toxaphene when it enters the environment? |
Toxaphene enters the environment after
it is applied to a crop or poured into a lake. Toxaphene can
enter the air (by evaporation), the soil (by sticking to soil
particles), and the water (from runoff after rains). Toxaphene
may also enter the environment from hazardous waste sites
or when it accidentally spills or leaks during storage or
transport. It does not dissolve well in water, so it is more
likely to be found in air, soil, or the sediment at the bottom
of lakes and streams. If toxaphene is found in surface water
or groundwater, it is usually at very low levels. Once toxaphene
is in the environment, it can last for years because it breaks
down very slowly. This means there is still the chance of
being exposed to toxaphene in the United States even though
it has not been widely used for over 10 years. Because toxaphene
breaks down slowly, exposure will probably be to the original
material.
Levels may be high in some predatory
fish and mammals because toxaphene accumulates in fatty tissues.
For example, when a raccoon eats a contaminated fish, some
of the toxaphene in the fish is transferred to the raccoon.
The more contaminated fish the raccoon eats, the more toxaphene
it acquires. This means that even when toxaphene levels are
low or confined to a certain area, they could be high in individual
animals.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to toxaphene? |
Since the use of toxaphene is banned
in the United States, you can probably only be exposed to
it in areas where it is concentrated (such as a waste site).
In those areas, there is a greater chance of breathing or
directly contacting the chemical. People may also be exposed
to toxaphene by eating contaminated soil. Infants and toddlers
have the greatest risk because they are likely to put things
in their mouths. People who eat large quantities of fish and
shellfish, or game animals such as raccoons taken in areas
contaminated by toxaphene may experience somewhat higher intakes
of toxaphene because those animals tend to concentrate toxaphene
in their fatty tissues. You can also be exposed to toxaphene
by breathing contaminated air, but concentrations in outdoor
air are very low so you are not likely to be exposed to unhealthy
levels in air.
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1.4
How can toxaphene enter and leave my body? |
Toxaphene can enter the body through
eating contaminated food or soil, through the skin after direct
contact with contaminated substances, and through the lungs
after breathing its vapors. Once toxaphene enters the body,
it rapidly spreads to all organs. Toxaphene is quickly broken
down in the body and excreted in urine and feces. Nearly all
(approximately 90%) of the toxaphene is eliminated from the
body within 24 to 36 hours after entering the body. However,
studies in animals show that low levels of toxaphene may remain
in fat for months.
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1.5
How can toxaphene affect my health? |
Breathing, eating, or drinking high levels
of toxaphene has been reported to damage the lungs, nervous
system, liver, and kidneys, and can cause death. Of course,
how severe the effects are depends on how much toxaphene is
absorbed. Because toxaphene is no longer used, the chances
of high-level exposure are small. However, exposure to low
levels can occur in some places because it may last a long
time in the environment. For this reason, if exposure occurs,
it is likely to be to environmental or low levels and probably
over a long time (that is, more than 1 year). Scientists have
no information about how low-level exposure for a long time
affects humans; however, animal studies have been conducted
to try to answer that question.
Studies in animals show that long-term
exposure (1-2 years) to toxaphene can damage the liver, kidneys,
adrenal glands, and immune system, and may cause minor changes
in fetal development. Toxaphene may also cause cancer in laboratory
animals. The results of studies where animals were exposed
to relatively high levels of toxaphene for most of their lives
show that the thyroid gland in some of the animals developed
cancerous cell types. The EPA has determined that toxaphene
is a probable human carcinogen. The National Toxicology Program
also concludes that there is a reasonable chance that toxaphene
is a human carcinogen. However, most people will never be
exposed to toxaphene for a long time (more than 1 year), and
not everyone exposed to it will develop cancer. In fact, there
is no evidence that toxaphene has caused cancer in people,
but animal evidence suggests that it may cause cancer in humans
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to toxaphene? |
Toxaphene and its breakdown products
can be detected in blood, urine, breast milk, and body tissues.
Because samples are easy to take, urine and blood tests are
the most common way to tell if a person has been exposed to
toxaphene. Neither of these tests is routinely available at
a doctor's office because special equipment is needed to detect
toxaphene, but your doctor can send samples to a special laboratory
that performs those tests. The tests cannot determine how
much toxaphene you have been exposed to. Toxaphene leaves
the body quickly, so the tests can only detect it within several
days after exposure. Also, if you are exposed to other chemicals
at the same time, the test results could be misinterpreted.
Blood and urine tests can confirm that
a person has been exposed to toxaphene, but these tests cannot
yet predict the kind or severity of any health effects that
might occur.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
In 1990, the EPA banned all uses of toxaphene
in the United States or any of its territories because of
scientific evidence that it harms humans and animals. In 1993,
the EPA banned the importation of food containing toxaphene
residues into the United States or any of its territories.
The federal government has developed regulatory standards
and guidelines to protect individuals from the potential harmful
health effects of toxaphene in drinking water and food. The
EPA concludes that the amount of toxaphene in drinking water
should not exceed 0.003 parts of toxaphene per million parts
(ppm) of water and that any release to the environment greater
than one pound should be reported. The EPA has also established
limits on how much toxaphene can be released from a factory
into waste water. The limit is set at 0-1.5 milligrams (mg)
of toxaphene per liter (approximately a quart) of water. The
EPA has determined that toxaphene is a "hazardous air pollutant"
under the Clean Air Act, but the agency has not yet established
standards for it. For short-term exposures, EPA concludes
that drinking water levels should not exceed 0.5 ppm for 1
day or 0.04 ppm for 10 days. The Food and Drug Administration
has set a limit of 6 ppm of toxaphene in crude soybean oil,
and EPA has set limits that range from 0.1 to 7 ppm for other
raw agricultural products such as sunflower seeds, soybeans,
grains, cottonseed, vegetables, and fruits (including bananas
and pineapples). Since the EPA has banned the importation
of all food containing toxaphene residues, and toxaphene can
no longer be used in the United States or its territories,
the likelihood of eating contaminated food is small.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has set a legally enforceable limit (permissible exposure
limit or PEL) of 0.5 milligrams of toxaphene per cubic meter
of air in workroom air to protect workers during an 8-hour
shift over a 40-hour workweek.
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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). 1996. Toxicological
profile for toxaphene. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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