2-Methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol and their acetates /
2-Methoxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol and their acetates /
published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization.
- Geneva : World Health Organization, 1990.
- 126 p.
- Environmental health criteria ; 115 .
Translations in French and Spanish of chapters 1, 10 and 11.
Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to 2-meth-oxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, and their two acetates: 2-methoxyethyl acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate. These glycol ethers have a wide range of uses as solvents with particular application in paints, stains, inks, lacquers, and the production of food-contact plastics. Sections concerned with sources of exposure note that patterns of use as evaporative solvents result in significant, widespread emissions to the environment, with grea potential for direct human exposure in industry, in small work-shops, and during home use of numerous consumer products. A review of data on environmental behaviour points to rapid degradation, supporting the conclusions that the risk of hazardous environmental concentrations is small and that human exposure through food, water, or the ambient air is probably negligible. A review of experimental studies of toxicity reveals strong and consistent evidence, across all species investigated, of adverse effects on the male reproductive system, developmental toxicity, and haematological toxicity. Although studies in humans are scarce, results from case reports and workplace epidemiological studies confirm the findings from animal research, pointing to a clear risk of disturbances in the male reproductive system and of embryotoxicity. The book concludes with a series of recommendations to authorities, including the need to find less toxic solvents, to alert users to the hazards of these chemicals, and to be aware that air monitoring alone is not an adequate measure of safety conditions at the workplace.
eng.
WHODOC
9241571152
Ethylene glycols--adverse effects--toxicity.
QV 633
Translations in French and Spanish of chapters 1, 10 and 11.
Evaluates the risks to human health and the environment posed by exposure to 2-meth-oxyethanol, 2-ethoxyethanol, and their two acetates: 2-methoxyethyl acetate and 2-ethoxyethyl acetate. These glycol ethers have a wide range of uses as solvents with particular application in paints, stains, inks, lacquers, and the production of food-contact plastics. Sections concerned with sources of exposure note that patterns of use as evaporative solvents result in significant, widespread emissions to the environment, with grea potential for direct human exposure in industry, in small work-shops, and during home use of numerous consumer products. A review of data on environmental behaviour points to rapid degradation, supporting the conclusions that the risk of hazardous environmental concentrations is small and that human exposure through food, water, or the ambient air is probably negligible. A review of experimental studies of toxicity reveals strong and consistent evidence, across all species investigated, of adverse effects on the male reproductive system, developmental toxicity, and haematological toxicity. Although studies in humans are scarce, results from case reports and workplace epidemiological studies confirm the findings from animal research, pointing to a clear risk of disturbances in the male reproductive system and of embryotoxicity. The book concludes with a series of recommendations to authorities, including the need to find less toxic solvents, to alert users to the hazards of these chemicals, and to be aware that air monitoring alone is not an adequate measure of safety conditions at the workplace.
eng.
WHODOC
9241571152
Ethylene glycols--adverse effects--toxicity.
QV 633