1.2- Dibromoethane contamination sites

Existing Information on Health Effects of 1,2-Dibromoethane 5-1 Frequency of NPL Sites with 1, 2-Dibromoethane Contamination ... 

FIGURE 5-1. FREQUENCY OF NPL SITES WITH 1, 2-DIBROMOETHANE CONTAMINATION ... 

Dibromoethane can enter your body after you eat or drink contaminated food and water. It can also enter your body through your skin when you bathe or swim in contaminated water. The 1,2-dibromoethane inside tiny soil particles may enter your body if you crush or eat contaminated soil. The chemical can enter your nose and lungs when you breathe air that contains 1,2-dibromoethane or when you shower with water that is contaminated. Near hazardous waste sites or near areas that once were farmed, the most likely way that you will be exposed is by drinking contaminated groundwater. 

The most important route of exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane for most members of the general population is ingestion of contaminated drinking water. Individuals living in the vicinity of hazardous waste sites contaminated with 1,2-dibromoethane may be exposed to higher concentrations of the compound. 

Exposure of the general population to higher concentrations of 1,2-dibromoethane may result from contact with contaminated hazardous waste site media, principally soils and groundwater. No information was found in the available literature regarding the size of the human population potentially exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane through contact with contaminated waste site media. 

Members of the general population with potentially high exposure to 1,2- dibromoethane include individuals living near the nine NPL sites currently known to be contaminated with the compound. The size of the population and the concentrations of 1,2-dibromoethane in all of the contaminated media to which these people are potentially exposed have not been completely characterized. Other populations with potentially high exposures to 1,2-dibromoethane include individuals in the six states with confirmed groundwater contamination, and workers involved in the manufacture and continued use of 1,2-dibromoethane. 

On-going remedial investigations and feasibility studies conducted at the nine NPL sites known to be contaminated with 1,2-dibromoethane will add to the available database on exposure levels in environmental media, exposure levels in humans, and exposure registries. 

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