1.1 What is carbon disulfide? |
1.2 What happens to carbon disulfide when
it enters the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to carbon disulfide? |
1.4 How can carbon disulfide enter and
leave my body? |
1.5 How can carbon disulfide affect my
health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to carbon disulfide? |
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 |
Carbon Disulfide |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for carbon disulfide. 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 carbon disulfide 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. Carbon
disulfide has been found in at least 200 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 carbon disulfide 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 can be exposed to a
substance only when you come into contact with it. You may
be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking the substances
or by skin contact.
If you are exposed to carbon disulfide,
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, life-style, and state of health.
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1.1
What is carbon disulfide? |
Pure carbon disulfide is a colorless
liquid with a pleasant odor that smells sweet. The impure
carbon disulfide that is usually used in most industrial processes,
however, is a yellowish liquid with an unpleasant odor like
that of rotting radishes. Carbon disulfide evaporates at room
temperature, and the vapor is more than twice as heavy as
air. Carbon disulfide easily explodes in air and also catches
fire very easily.
In nature, small amounts of carbon disulfide
are found in gases released to the earth's surface, for example,
in volcanic eruptions or over marshes. Microorganisms in the
soil can also produce gas containing carbon disulfide. Commercial
carbon disulfide is made by combining carbon and sulfur at
very high temperatures. Several industries use carbon disulfide
as a raw material to make such things as rayon, cellophane,
and carbon tetrachloride. Currently, the largest user of this
chemical is the viscose rayon industry. Carbon disulfide is
also used to dissolve rubber to produce tires and as a raw
material to make some pesticides.
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1.2
What happens to carbon disulfide when it enters the environment? |
Carbon disulfide evaporates rapidly when
released to the environment. The amount of carbon disulfide
released into the air through natural processes is difficult
to judge because it is in such small amounts in nature. This
also makes it hard to monitor carbon disulfide and to explain
how it behaves when it comes into contact with other compounds.
Most carbon disulfide in the air and in surface water is from
manufacturing and processing activities. However, it is found
naturally in coastal and ocean waters. Carbon disulfide has
also been found in the groundwater and soil at some EPA research
sites around the country, but the number of research sites
that have carbon disulfide is small.
Once released to the environment, carbon
disulfide moves quickly to the air. Once in the air, carbon
disulfide stays close to the ground because it is heavier
than the surrounding air. It is estimated that carbon disulfide
will break down into simpler components after approximately
12 days. Carbon disulfide moves through soils fairly quickly.
Carbon disulfide accidentally released to soils normally evaporates
rapidly. However, since carbon disulfide does not bind tightly
to soils, the amount that does not evaporate can easily move
down through the soil into groundwater. Since it is very mobile,
it is not likely to stay in the soil long enough to be broken
down. It does not remain very long in water either because
it evaporates within minutes. However, if dissolved in water,
it is relatively stable and is not easily broken down. It
is estimated that carbon disulfide is not taken up in significant
amounts by the organisms living in water.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to carbon disulfide? |
Carbon disulfide can enter your body
if you breath air, drink water, or eat foods that contain
it. You can also be exposed by skin contact with soil, water,
or other substances that contain it. Oceans are a major natural
source. The amount of carbon disulfide found in the air from
natural sources such as volcanoes is so low that good measurements
are not available from many areas. One measurement shows that
carbon disulfide produced by marshes contributes less than
8% of the sulfur in the upper atmosphere.
Small amounts of carbon disulfide can
enter the air by evaporation and as a by-product of several
manufacturing processes. It is not clear how long carbon disulfide
stays in the air. Estimates range from 1 to 10 weeks. The
people most often exposed to carbon disulfide are workers
in plants that use carbon disulfide in their manufacturing
processes. The main way they are exposed is through the air,
and secondarily the skin. Carbon disulfide has also been found
in small amounts in some drinking water in the United States.
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1.4
How can carbon disulfide enter and leave my body? |
Most people are exposed
to carbon disulfide by breathing air that contains it. Carbon
disulfide easily and rapidly enters your bloodstream through
the lungs. Carbon disulfide can also enter your body through
your skin, or by eating or drinking foods that are contaminated
with the chemical. About 10-30% of carbon disulfide that the
body absorbs leaves through the lungs; less than 1% leaves
in the urine. The rest of the absorbed carbon disulfide (70-90%)
is changed in the body and leaves the body in the urine in
the form of other chemicals. Small amounts of carbon disulfide
also leave the body in sweat and saliva.
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1.5
How can carbon disulfide affect my health? |
At very high levels (10,000 parts of
carbon disulfide per million parts [ppm] of air), carbon disulfide
may be life threatening because of its effects on the nervous
system. Studies in animals show that high levels of carbon
disulfide can damage the heart. People who breathed carbon
disulfide near an accident involving a railroad car showed
changes in breathing and some chest pains. Among workers who
breathed about 8 ppm, some developed very slight changes in
their nerves. Some workers who breathed more than 20 ppm during
working hours for at least 6 months had headaches, tiredness,
and trouble sleeping. However, the workers may have been exposed
to other chemicals besides carbon disulfide. The current standard
for exposure in the workplace is 20 ppm over an 8-hour day
and a 5-day work week.
Studies in animals indicate that carbon
disulfide can affect the normal functions of the brain, liver,
and heart. However, the amount of carbon disulfide in the
air to which animals in these studies were exposed was much
higher than the amounts in the air that the general public
usually breathes. The brains, livers, and hearts of the animals
were affected only after breathing air that contained carbon
disulfide for days, months, or years. After pregnant rats
breathed 225 ppm carbon disulfide in the air, some of the
newborn rats died or had birth defects.
There is no information on health effects
in people who eat food or drink water contaminated with carbon
disulfide. Animals fed food that contained carbon disulfide
developed liver and heart disease, and some showed abnormal
behavior. These amounts, however, were very much higher than
those that occur in drinking water supplies. When pregnant
animals received large doses of carbon disulfide in their
diet, some of the newborns died or had birth defects.
Skin contact with spilt carbon disulfide
can lead to burns at the contact site. In studies that examined
the harmful effects of skin contact with carbon disulfide,
workers in a rayon plant who handled fibers made with carbon
disulfide for more than 14 days developed blisters on their
fingers. Rabbits developed blisters and ulcers on the treated
areas of their ears.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to carbon disulfide? |
Carbon disulfide itself
can be measured in breath, urine, and blood. It breaks down
in the body into other chemical substances called metabolites.
These substances can be found and measured in the urine. After
carbon disulfide enters your body, these substances reach
higher levels than normally found. One chemical test using
urine can be done to tell whether the levels of these breakdown
substances from carbon disulfide are higher than normal. This
test requires special equipment and is not routinely available
in a doctor's office. The test is not specific for carbon
disulfide exposure because other chemicals can also produce
these metabolites. Therefore, it cannot be used to find out
exactly how much carbon disulfide you were exposed to or to
predict whether you'll be harmed. Also, the test can only
be used if you have breathed in at least 16 ppm; this test
can be used for determining longer term exposure to carbon
disulfide. A second test based on a specific metabolite is
more sensitive and specific. It also requires special equipment
and cannot tell you exactly how much carbon disulfide you
were exposed to or predict whether you'll be harmed. Carbon
disulfide leaves the body quickly in the breath and in the
urine.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government has set regulations
to protect individuals from the possible health effects of
eating, drinking, or breathing carbon disulfide. The EPA suggested
that taking into your body each day an amount equal to 0.1
mg (milligram) of carbon disulfide per kg (kilogram) of your
body weight is not likely to cause any significant (noncancer)
harmful health effects.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) regulates levels of carbon disulfide in the workplace.
OSHA requires that workroom air contain no more than an average
of 20 ppm of carbon disulfide over an 8-hour working shift
for 5 consecutive days in a work week.
The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that the average workroom
air levels of carbon disulfide not exceed 1 ppm over a 10-hour
period.
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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 carbon disulfide. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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