1.1 What is 2-hexanone? |
1.2 How might I be exposed to 2-hexanone? |
1.3 How can 2-hexanone enter and leave
my body? |
1.4 How can 2-hexanone affect my health? |
1.5 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to 2-hexanone? |
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-Hexanone |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for 2-hexanone. 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-hexanone 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-Hexanone has been found
in at least 15 of these sites. However, we do not know how
many of the 1,177 NPL sites have been evaluated for 2-hexanone.
As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites at which
2-hexanone is found may change. This information is important
for you to know because 2-hexanone may cause harmful health
effects and because these sites are potential or actual sources
of human exposure to 2-hexanone.
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-hexanone, 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-hexanone? |
2-Hexanone, also known as methyl n-butyl
ketone or MBK, is a clear, colorless liquid with a somewhat
sharp odor. The liquid form can easily evaporate into the
air as a vapor. It is a waste product of wood pulping, coal
gasification, and oil shale operations. 2-Hexanone was formerly
used in paint and paint thinner and in various chemical substances.
However, since it was found to have harmful health effects,
it is no longer made in the United States, and its uses have
been restricted. There are no known major natural sources
of 2-hexanone in the environment. When 2-hexanone is released
to rivers or lakes, it dissolves very easily, and it may evaporate
into the air in a few days. We do not know if 2-hexanone binds
to soil. When 2-hexanone is released to the water, air, or
soil, it is probably broken down into smaller products, possibly
within a few days.
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1.2
How might I be exposed to 2-hexanone? |
You can be exposed to 2-hexanone if you
live near an industry or hazardous waste site that releases
the liquid into wastewater or the gas form into the surrounding
air. These industries include coal gasification plants, oil
shale operations, and wood pulping mills. We have no information
on background levels of 2-hexanone in the environment.
2-Hexanone has been found as a natural
substance in foods such as cheese, nectarines, nuts, bread,
and chicken muscle. We do not know the levels of 2-hexanone
in these foods. 2-Hexanone has been found in milk and cream
at levels up to 0.018 ppm (0.018 parts of 2-hexanone in one
million parts of liquid). These levels are far below the levels
that have caused harmful effects in animals. It has also been
found in drinking water and soil near hazardous waste sites.
Exposures at these sites may take place if you drink the contaminated
water or bathe in it, if you get contaminated soil on your
skin, or if you breathe the contaminated air.
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1.3
How can 2-hexanone enter and leave my body? |
2-Hexanone can enter your body when you
breathe its vapors, eat food or drink water that contains
it, or when you come in contact with it through your skin.
When 2-hexanone is breathed in, about 75% of it is taken up
and remains in the body unchanged or as a breakdown product
for an unknown length of time. If it enters the body by mouth,
about 65% of the chemical leaves the body slowly (in about
a week), either unchanged or as breakdown products, in the
breath and urine. The rest may either stay in the body or
may leave the body slowly through the breath or urine. One
of the breakdown products, called 2,5-hexanedione, may be
responsible for the harmful effects on the nervous system
(see Section 1.4). When 2-hexanone
gets in through the skin, some leaves the body through the
lungs and urine within a few hours. We have no information
on how much stays in the body or for how long. If you live
or work near a hazardous waste site, you may be exposed to
2-hexanone in the air that you breathe or in the water you
drink or bathe in, if it contains small amounts of this chemical.
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1.4
How can 2-hexanone affect my health? |
The most important health concern for
humans from exposure to 2-hexanone is its harmful effects
on the nervous system. These effects were seen in workers
who were exposed to 2-hexanone for almost a year. The major
effects were weakness, numbness, and tingling in the skin
of the hands and feet. Similar effects were seen in animals
that ate or breathed high levels of 2-hexanone; these effects
included weakness, clumsiness, and paralysis.
We do not know whether 2-hexanone can
cause cancer or birth defects. In one study, when pregnant
rats were exposed to 2-hexanone in the air, fewer offspring
lived after birth, and those that did survive had low birth
weights.
Many of the studies in which the health
effects of 2-hexanone in humans or animals were reported did
not use pure 2-hexanone. Therefore, we do not know whether
the results were caused by 2-hexanone itself or by the other
chemicals in the mixture.
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1.5
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to 2-hexanone? |
Tests can be used to find out whether
you have recently been exposed to 2-hexanone. The tests measure
levels of 2-hexanone or its breakdown products in blood or
urine. These tests require special equipment and are done
in a special laboratory, so they are usually not available
in a doctor's office. However, these tests cannot be used
to predict whether harmful effects will occur.
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1.6
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government has set certain
regulations and guidelines to help protect people from the
possible health effects of 2-hexanone in the workplace. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set
a limit of 5 ppm (5 parts of 2-hexanone in 1 million parts
of air) as an average exposure level to this chemical over
a 40-hour work week. The American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has made the same recommendation.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) recommends an even lower limit, 1 ppm, as an average
exposure during a 10-hour period.
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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-hexanone. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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