1.1 What is tetryl? |
1.2 What happens to tetryl when it enters
the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to tetryl? |
1.4 How can tetryl enter and leave my
body? |
1.5 How can tetryl affect my health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to tetryl? |
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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June 1995 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Tetryl |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for tetryl. 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 tetryl and to emphasize the human health
effects that may result from exposure to it. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,397 hazardous waste
sites as the most serious in the nation. These sites
make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites
targeted for long-term federal clean-up activities.
Tetryl has been found in at least 12 of the sites on the NPL.
However, the number of NPL sites evaluated for tetryl is not
known. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites
at which tetryl is found may increase. This information
is important because exposure to tetryl may cause harmful
health effects and because these sites are potential or actual
sources of human exposure to tetryl.
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 in contact with
it. You may be exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking
substances containing the substance or by skin contact with
it.
If you are exposed to a substance such
as tetryl, many 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 tetryl? |
Tetryl is a synthetic substance that
was used to make explosives, mostly during World War I and
World War II. It is no longer manufactured or used in
the United States. The chemical name for tetryl is N-methyl-N,2,4,6-tetranitroaniline.
Other commonly used names are 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl-N-methylnitramine,
nitramine, tetralite, and tetril. Stocks of tetryl are
found in storage at military installations and are being destroyed
by the Department of Defense. Tetryl was frequently
manufactured as pellets or powder. Under certain manufacturing
conditions, it could exist in the air as a dust. Tetryl
is a yellow, crystal-like solid at room temperature.
It dissolves slightly in water. It can also dissolve
in other liquids, including benzene, alcohol, and acetone.
At temperatures of 369°F (187°C) or higher,
tetryl will explode. Tetryl has no odor, but some of
its manufactured forms may have odors due to the presence
of other chemicals. In addition, high concentrations
of tetryl dust have an irritating effect on the nose that
produces a sensation that might seem to be an odor.
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1.2
What happens to tetryl when it enters the environment? |
Tetryl may be released to the air, water,
and soil when old stores of the explosive are destroyed by
exploding or burning. However, tetryl has not been measured
in air during any of these activities. Tetryl that was
manufactured or stored at military installations, or Army
ammunition plants may still be present in the soil and water
at or around these sites. Tetryl is not likely to evaporate
into air from water or soil surfaces. However, tetryl
may be present in air mixed with dust from these sites.
Tetryl appears to break-down rapidly in some soils. Picric
acid is one of the break down products of tetryl in soil.
Tetryl probably does not easily travel from soil to groundwater.
Erosion of soil from contaminated sites may release tetryl
to nearby surface water. Once it is in the water, tetryl
may dissolve or associate with small particles of suspended
solids, sediments, or organic debris. Some of these
particles will settle to the bottom. Tetryl breaks down
rapidly in sunlit rivers and lakes, but much more slowly in
groundwater. It is not known whether tetryl will build
up in fish, plants, or land animals.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to tetryl? |
Most people are not exposed to tetryl
because contamination is localized around military installations
where it was manufactured, used, or stored. Tetryl can
move through soil and enter underground water. If you
live near one of these installations with tetryl contamination,
you may be exposed to tetryl by drinking contaminated well
water. You may also be exposed to tetryl by skin contact
with contaminated soil or water. Workers who were previously
involved in the processes of making, using, packing, or loading
tetryl were probably exposed to tetryl by breathing contaminated
dust and through skin contact. Workers currently involved
in the clean-up, disposal, and destruction of tetryl may also
be exposed by these routes. We do not know how many
workers are exposed to tetryl.
Tetryl has been found in soil and water
at some military installations, such as Army ammunition plants,
and in underground water at one site near a military installation.
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1.4
How can tetryl enter and leave my body? |
Tetryl can enter your body if you breathe
it in the air, drink it in water, or get it on your skin.
We do not know the extent to which tetryl enters your body
by these routes. Based on limited information from animal
studies, tetryl probably leaves your body in urine after being
broken down to other substances.
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1.5
How can tetryl affect my health? |
Most of the information on the health
effects of tetryl is from studies on workers in military facilities
during World War I and World War II. These workers were
involved in the production, use, packing, or loading of tetryl.
The levels of tetryl in air at these facilities were often
not measured. Many workers who breathed tetryl-laden
dust complained of coughs, fatigue, headaches, eye irritation,
lack of appetite, nosebleeds, nausea, and/or vomiting.
Most workers who routinely handled tetryl powder and pellets
in munitions factories developed a distinct yellow staining
of the hands, neck, and hair. Workers with this staining
were sometimes referred to as "canaries." Many workers
who had skin contact with tetryl dust or compounds containing
tetryl also developed skin rashes (dermatitis). The
rashes ranged from mild to severe and symptoms often included
reddening, itching, swelling, and peeling of skin. Most
of these health effects usually developed within a few days
to a few weeks after exposure to tetryl. Some workers
were more sensitive to tetryl exposure and developed allergies
to tetryl. These often included severe asthma-like reactions
that sometimes required medical attention or hospitalization.
Workers who developed allergies to tetryl had reactions within
a few hours after being exposed again to tetryl. Many
of these workers were moved to work areas where there was
no tetryl. Little is known about the longer term health
effects in workers exposed to tetryl.
There is no information on health effects
in people exposed to drinking water contaminated with tetryl.
Rabbits fed high doses of tetryl every day for 6 to 9 months
developed degenerative lesions of the liver and kidney.
Decreased blood-clotting capability and changes in the spleen
were also noted. We do not know if tetryl causes cancer
or birth defects, or if it affects reproduction in people
or animals. The Department of Health and Human Services,
the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the Environmental
Protection Agency have not classified the carcinogenicity
of tetryl.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to tetryl? |
During World War I and World War II,
most workers who routinely handled tetryl powder and pellets
in munitions factories developed a distinct yellow staining
of the skin. Many workers also developed skin rashes.
These workers were exposed to high concentrations of tetryl
dust in the air and by direct contact with the explosives.
There are no medical tests to show if you have been specifically
exposed to tetryl. However, if the breakdown products
of tetryl found in the urine of animals exposed to tetryl
were also present in the urine of exposed people, these breakdown
products could be used to indicate exposure to tetryl or similar
substances. The symptoms caused by exposure to tetryl
can also occur for many other reasons; therefore, they cannot
be used as proof of tetryl exposure.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
The federal government has developed
standards and guidelines to protect people from the health
effects of tetryl. The Department of Transportation
has many regulations for the transportation of explosives
such as tetryl. Although tetryl is no longer being manufactured
or used, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) has set a regulatory level for tetryl in the workplace.
The maximum allowable amount of tetryl in workroom air during
an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek, is 1.5 milligrams of
tetryl per cubic meter of air (mg/m³). This
level may apply to workers engaged in destruction of tetryl
explosives and those who work in locations where tetryl is
stored. The National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health recommends that workers not be exposed to air containing
more than 1.5 mg/m³ during a 10-hour workday.
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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). 1995. Toxicological
profile for tetryl. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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