United States                    Pollution Prevention     December 1994
Environmental Protection         and Toxics               EPA 749-F-95-002
Agency     (7407)


                        OPPT Chemical Fact Sheets

             
                   Aniline Fact Sheet (CAS No. 62-53-3)


Chemicals can be released to the environment as a result of their
manufacture, processing, and use.  EPA has developed information summaries
on selected chemicals to describe how you might be exposed to these
chemicals, how exposure to them might affect you and the environment, what
happens to them in the environment, who regulates them, and whom to contact
for additional information.  EPA is committed to reducing environmental
releases of chemicals through source reduction and other practices that
reduce creation of pollutants.




WHAT IS ANILINE, HOW IS IT USED, AND HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED?

     Aniline (also called aminobenzene) is an oily, flammable liquid.  It
occurs naturally in some foods.  It is produced in very large amounts (1
billion pounds in 1992) by seven companies in the United States.  U.S.
demand is likely to increase 3% to 4% per year for the next several years. 
The largest users of aniline are companies that make isocyanates,
especially methyl diphenyl diisocyanate.  Other companies use aniline to
make pesticides, dyes, and rubber.  Companies also use smaller amounts of
aniline to make drugs, photographic chemicals, varnishes, and explosives. 

     Exposure to aniline can occur in the workplace or in the environment
following releases to air, water, land, or groundwater.  It enters the body
when people breathe air or consume food or water contaminated with aniline. 
It can also be absorbed through skin contact.  It does not remain in the
body due to its breakdown and removal.


WHAT HAPPENS TO ANILINE IN THE ENVIRONMENT?

     Aniline can evaporate when exposed to air.  It dissolves when mixed
with water.  Most releases of aniline to the U.S. environment are to
underground injection sites and to air.  In air, aniline breaks down to
other chemicals.  Sunlight also breaks down aniline in surface water and in
soil.  Microorganisms that live in water and in soil can also break down
aniline.  Because it is a liquid that does not bind well to soil, aniline
that makes its way into the ground can move through the ground and enter
groundwater.  Plants and animals are not likely to store aniline.

HOW DOES ANILINE AFFECT HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT?

     The effects of aniline on human health and the environment depend on
how much aniline is present and the length and frequency of exposure. 
Effects also depend on the health of a person or the condition of the
environment when exposure occurs.

     Breathing large amounts of aniline for short periods of time decreases
the ability of blood to carry oxygen.  Lack of oxygen causes effects
ranging from headache and light headedness to disorientation, coma, and
death.  Single exposures  to large amounts of aniline can also damage the
spleen.  Prompt and proper treatment can usually reverse the nonlethal
acute effects of aniline.  These effects are not likely to occur at levels
of aniline that are normally found in the U.S. environment.

     Workers exposed to small amounts of aniline in air over several years
experience adverse blood effects.  Limited evidence suggests aniline may
also cause adverse reproductive effects in humans.   Other human health
effects associated with exposure to aniline over long periods of time are
not known.  Laboratory studies show that repeat exposure to large amounts
of aniline in the diet over a lifetime causes cancer in animals.  Aniline
may likewise cause cancer in humans.  Repeat exposure to large amounts of
aniline in the diet also causes adverse effects on the spleen and blood of
animals.  Laboratory studies show that repeat exposure to small amounts of
aniline in air decreases the ability of blood to carry oxygen in animals.

     The aniline industry has completed aquatic toxicity studies in
response to an EPA request for testing.  These tests show that aniline is
highly toxic to aquatic life.

WHAT EPA OFFICES OR OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES OR OTHER GROUPS CAN I CONTACT
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ANILINE?

  EPA OFFICE             LAW                      	PHONE NUMBER

  Pollution Prevention   Pollution Prevention Act 	(202) 260-1023
   & Toxics              Emergency Planning and 
                          Community Right-to-Know 
                          Act ( 313/Toxics
                          Release Inventory)      	(800) 424-9346
                         Toxic Substances 
                          Control Act (TSCA)
                          ( 4, 8D)               	(202) 554-1404
  Air                    Clean Air Act            	(919) 541-0888
  Solid Waste &          Resource Conservation and 
    Emergency Response     Recovery Act (RCRA)    	(800) 424-9346
                         Comprehensive Environmental 
                           Response, Compensation and 
                           Liability Act (CERCLA) 	(800) 424-9346
  Water                  Clean Water Act          	(202) 260-7588

For general information on reducing or eliminating industrial pollutants  
through technology transfer, education, and public awareness, contact the
Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse, (202) 260-1023.


  OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES/DEPARTMENT OR GROUPS     	PHONE NUMBER

  American Conference of Governmental 
    Industrial Hygienists                         	(513) 742-2020
  Consumer Product Safety Commission              	(301) 504-0994
  Food & Drug Administration                      	(301) 443-3170
  National Institute for Occupational 
    Safety & Health                               	(800) 356-4674
  Occupational Safety & Health Administration
    (Check local phone book for phone number under Department of Labor)

The Support Document for this and other OPPT Chemical Fact Sheets can be
found on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/chemfact/