1.1 What is 1,2-dichloroethene? |
1.2 What happens to 1,2-dichloroethene
when it enters the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene? |
1.4 How can 1,2-dichloroethene enter and
leave my body? |
1.5 How can 1,2-dichloroethene affect
my health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene? |
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 |
1,2-Dichloroethene |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 1,2-dichloroethene. 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 1,2-dichloroethene 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.
Cis-1,2-dichloroethene has been found in at least 146 of the
1,430 current or former NPL sites. Trans-1,2-dichloroethene
has been found in at least 563 of the 1,430 current or former
NPL sites. In 336 of the NPL sites, 1,2-dichloroethene was
found but the isomer was not specified. However, it's unknown
how many NPL sites have been evaluated for this substance.
As more sites are evaluated, the sites with 1,2-dichloroethene
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 1,2-dichloroethene,
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 1,2-dichloroethene? |
1,2-Dichloroethene is also called 1,2-dichloroethylene.
It is a highly flammable, colorless liquid with a sharp, harsh
odor. You can smell very small amounts of 1,2-dichloroethene
in air (beginning at a level of about 17 parts per million
or ppm). There are two forms of 1,2-dichloroethene; one form
is called cis-1,2-dichloroethene and the other is called trans-1,2-dichloroethene.
Sometimes both forms are present as a mixture. 1,2-Dichloroethene
is used most often to produce solvents and in chemical mixtures.
1,2-Dichloroethene enters the environment
through industrial activity of people. This chemical has been
found in air, water, and soil. 1,2-Dichloroethene is released
to the environment from chemical factories that make or use
this chemical, from landfills and hazardous waste sites containing
this chemical, from chemical spills, from burning of objects
made of vinyl, and from breakdown of other chlorinated chemicals.
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1.2
What happens to 1,2-dichloroethene when it enters the environment? |
1,2-Dichloroethene evaporates rapidly.
When released to moist soil surfaces or to lakes, rivers,
and other bodies of water, most of it evaporates into the
air. Once in the air, it usually takes about 5-12 days for
half of any amount of it to break down (half-life in air).
1,2-Dichloroethene that is below soil surfaces in landfills
or hazardous waste sites may dissolve in water, seep deeper
into the soil, and possibly contaminate groundwater. Some
1,2-dichloroethene may escape as a vapor. Once in groundwater,
it takes about 13-48 weeks for half of a given amount
to break down (half-life in water). There is a slight chance
that small amounts of the 1,2-dichloroethene found in landfills
will eventually break down into vinyl chloride, which is believed
to be a more hazardous chemical.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene? |
You might be exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene
by breathing contaminated air or by drinking contaminated
tap water. If the tap water in your home is contaminated,
you could also be breathing 1,2-dichloroethene vapors while
cooking, bathing, or washing dishes. There are no known products
you can buy that contain 1,2-dichloroethene. People who are
most likely to be exposed live near landfills and hazardous
waste sites that contain this chemical, work at factories
where this chemical is made or used, work at 1,2-dichloroethene
contaminated landfills, or work as firefighters. Job-related
exposure results from breathing in 1,2-dichloroethene from
workplace air or from touching contaminated chemicals or materials.
According to a survey conducted between 1981 and 1983 by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),
an estimated 215 people in the United States may have been
exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene while working.
People who live in cities or suburbs
are more likely to be exposed than people living in rural
areas. Most people who are exposed to 1,2-dichloroethene through
air or water are exposed to very low levels, in the range
of parts per million (ppm) to parts per billion (ppb).
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1.4
How can 1,2-dichloroethene enter and leave my body? |
1,2-Dichloroethene can enter the body
through your lungs when you breathe air contaminated with
it, through your stomach and intestines when you eat food
or drink water contaminated with it, or through your skin
upon contact with the chemical.
When 1,2-dichloroethene enters the body,
the blood and other tissues absorb it. It is broken down to
other compounds in the liver. Animal studies have looked at
how quickly the compound enters and leaves the body and what
may happen to it in the body. These animal studies describe
effects at levels far greater than those levels at which most
people would be exposed. No studies show specifically how
1,2-dichloroethene enters a person's body and how it is changed
or removed by the body.
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1.5
How can 1,2-dichloroethene affect my health? |
Breathing high levels of trans-1,2-dichloroethene
can make you feel nauseous, drowsy, and tired. Breathing very
high levels of its vapor can kill you. When animals breathed
high levels of trans-1,2-dichloroethene for short or longer
periods of time, their livers and lungs were damaged. The
effects were more severe with longer exposure times. Animals
that breathed very high levels of trans-1,2-dichloroethene
had damaged hearts. Animals given extremely high doses of
cis- or trans-1,2-dichloroethene by mouth died. Lower oral
doses of cis-1,2-dichloroethene caused effects on the blood,
such as decreased numbers of red blood cells, and effects
on the liver.
The long-term human health effects after
exposure to low concentrations of 1,2-dichloroethene are not
known. Results of a recent animal study suggest that an exposed
fetus may not grow as quickly as one that is not exposed.
No studies have been done to see whether cancer in people
or animals is caused by exposure to 1,2-dichloroethene; exposure
has not been shown to affect fertility in people or animals
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 1,2-dichloroethene? |
Methods are available to measure concentrations
of 1,2-dichloroethene in blood, urine, and tissues. However,
these methods are not routinely used to determine whether
a person has been exposed to this compound, because the expected
breakdown products resulting from exposure to 1,2-dichloroethene
may also result from exposure to other chemicals.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government has developed
regulatory standards and guidelines to protect people from
possible health effects of 1,2-dichloroethene in water and
air. The EPA has established water quality guidelines to protect
both aquatic life and people who eat fish and shellfish. The
EPA Office of Drinking Water has set a drinking water regulation
that states that water delivered to any user of a public water
system shall not exceed 0.07 milligrams per liter (mg/L) for
cis-1,2-dichloroethene and 0.1 mg/L for trans-1,2-dichloroethene.
For very short-term exposures (1 day) for children, EPA
advises that concentrations in drinking water should not be
more than 4 mg/L for cis-1,2-dichloroethene or 20 mg/L
for trans-1,2-dichloroethene. For 10-day exposures for children,
EPA advises that drinking water concentrations should not
be more than 3 mg/L for cis-1,2-dichloroethene or 2 mg/L
for trans-1,2-dichloroethene. For industrial or waste disposal
sites, any release of 1,000 pounds or more must be reported
to the EPA.
The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) have established guidelines
for occupational exposure to cis- or trans-1,2-dichloroethene.
Average concentrations should not exceed 200 ppm in the
air
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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 1,2-dichloroethene. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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