1.1 What is 2,3-benzofuran? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 2,3-benzofuran? |
1.3 How can 2,3-benzofuran enter and leave
my body? |
1.4 How can 2,3-benzofuran affect my health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 2,3-benzofuran? |
1.6 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.7 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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September 1992 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
2-3,Benzofuran |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 2,3-benzofuran. 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
2,3-benzofuran 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). 2,3-Benzofuran has been found in at least 5 of
these sites. However, we do not know how many of the 1,177
NPL sites have been evaluated for 2,3-benzofuran. As EPA evaluates
more sites, the number of sites at which 2,3-benzofuran is
found may change. This information is important for you to
know because 2,3-benzofuran may cause harmful health effects
and because these sites are potential or actual sources of
human exposure to 2,3-benzofuran.
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 chemical such as 2,3-benzofuran,
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, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1
What is 2,3-benzofuran? |
2,3-Benzofuran is a colorless, sweet-smelling,
oily liquid which does not mix with water. 2,3-Benzofuran
is made by processing coal into coal oil. 2,3-Benzofuran may
also be formed during other uses of coal or oil. The part
of the coal oil that contains 2,3-benzofuran is made into
a plastic called coumarone-indene resin. Coumarone-indene
resin can then be used to make paint, varnish, glue, and floor
tiles, and it is allowed on food products and packages. We
know very little about how 2,3-benzofuran might get into the
environment or what happens to it after it gets there.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to 2,3-benzofuran? |
2,3-Benzofuran has been found in a few
places in the air and water. In most instances, when it was
found, the amount that was there was not measured. We do not
know what the levels of 2,3-benzofuran are in soil, air, water,
or food. The reason that 2,3-benzofuran has not often been
found could be that 2,3-benzofuran usually attaches to particles,
and is not free in the air or water. We do not know where
2,3-benzofuran comes from, except when it is found near fuel-processing
factories. Workers who make coal oil or coumarone-indene resin
might be exposed to 2,3-benzofuran. Cigarette smoke has some
2,3-benzofuran in it. Coumarone-indene resin is allowed in
food packages and as a coating on oranges and grapefruit.
We do not know how often the resin is used or whether any
2,3-benzofuran in it gets into the food.
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1.3
How can 2,3-benzofuran enter and leave my body? |
We know very little about how 2,3-benzofuran
can enter or leave your body. Some 2,3-benzofuran can enter
your body from the environment if it is in the water that
you drink, the food that you eat, or the air that you breathe.
We do not know how much you would take in or when and how
it would leave your body.
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1.4
How can 2,3-benzofuran affect my health? |
The effect of 2,3-benzofuran on your health depends on how
much you take into your body. In general, the more you take
in, the greater the chances that an effect will occur. No
studies have been done to test the effects of 2,3-benzofuran
on the health of humans. Studies in animals show that 2,3-benzofuran
can damage the liver and kidneys if large amounts are given
within a short time, and that very large amounts can kill.
We do not know whether exposure to 2,3-benzofuran can affect
your ability to have children or can harm an unborn baby.
Studies in animals show that exposure to 2,3-benzofuran at
moderate levels over a long time can damage the liver, kidneys,
lungs, and stomach. The brain, muscles, and heart do not seem
to be seriously damaged by long-term exposure. Some rats and
mice that received 2,3-benzofuran for their whole lives developed
cancer of the kidney, lung, liver, or stomach. However, no
cases of cancer in humans have been linked to exposure to
2,3-benzofuran.
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1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 2,3-benzofuran? |
2,3-Benzofuran can be measured in your
blood or in your milk if you are a nursing mother. The test
is specific for 2,3-benzofuran but it requires special equipment
and is not easily available. The test may only be able to
detect 2,3-benzofuran for a certain period of time because
it is not known how long 2,3-benzofuran remains in the body
after you have been exposed to it. Also, the test only shows
that you have been exposed; it cannot predict which health
effects, if any, you will develop.
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1.6
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
No standards have been set for exposure
to 2,3-benzofuran. The Food and Drug Administration specifies
the quantity of coumarone-indene resin that may be used on
food and in food packages.
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1.7
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). 1992. Toxicological
profile for 2,3-benzofuran. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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