Inhalation of ethylene

Toxicology. An excellent review of the toxicity and health assessment of ethylene oxide has been compiled (233). Ethylene oxide (EO) can be relatively toxic as both a Hquid and gas. Inhalation of ethylene oxide ia high concentrations may be fatal. Estimates of lethal ethylene oxide inhalation levels in animals depend on the duration of exposure. The reported 4-h LC q values for rats, mice, and dogs are 1460, 835, and 960 ppm, respectively (234). More recent information (235) indicates that the 1-h LC q in rats is approximately 5000 ppm. 

Short RD, Minor JL, Winston HM, et al. 1978. Inhalation of ethylene dibromide during gestation by rats and mice. Toxicol Applied Pharmacol 46 173-182. 

Toxicity of EtnO (Ref 17, pp 314—15 Spec MIL-E-52171). Liquid EtnO, concentrated or dilute, when exposed to the skin can cause -severe delayed bums. Short exposures produce mild first degree bums, but prolonged exposures produce second degree bums with the formation of large blisters. Exposure to the vapor results in systemic manifestations and irritation to the respiratory system. Inhalation of ethylene oxide vapors, if. prolonged, results in severe systemic poisoning with the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, headache, dysnea, and diarthea. The anesthetic properties are similar to chloroform, but with pronounced undesirable side and after effects. 

Effects of inhalation of ethylene dichloride on pulmonary defenses of mice and rats. Toxicol,... 

The characteristics of the nasal lesions in mice following chronic inhalation of ethylene dibromide were investigated. Male and female B6C3F, mice were exposed to 10 or 40 ppm [77 or 308 mg/m- ] ethylene dibromide for 6 h per day on five days per week for 103 (10 ppm) or 90 (40 ppm) weeks. The incidence of hyperplastic lesions was related to the dose of ethylene dibromide and was equivalent in males and females. Lesions consisted of focal areas of cuboidal to columnar cells arranged in a glandular pattern with foci of hyperplastic squamous epithelium also seen occasionally. Lesions were usually located in the anterior (respiratory turbinates) of the nasal cavities. A broad spectrum of proliferative lesions was observed (Stinson et al., 1981). 

If contact with the liquid or its solutions occurs, affected areas should be flushed thoroughly with water for at least 15 min. The areas should be observed for burns or resulting irritation. In case of inhalation of ethylene oxide, the victim should be moved to fresh air, an airway should be established, and respiration should be maintained as necessary. The victim should be monitored for irritation, bronchitis, and pneumonitis. If excessive exposure occurs, hospitalization and monitoring for delayed pulmonary edema is recommended. 

Leong. B.K.J. Ts o. T.O.T. Testicular atrophy from inhalation of ethylene oxide cyclic tetramer. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 1974. 27. 342-354. 

Inhalation exposure to high concentrations of ethylene oxide has been reported to result in respiratory system irritation and edema (236). 

In an animal study of rats exposed by inhalation to ethylene oxide at 10, 33, or 100 ppm for approximately two years (245), and in a separate chronic rat study in which rats were exposed to 50 or 100 ppm of ethylene oxide (240), increased incidences of mononuclear cell leukemia, peritoneal mesothelioma, and various brain tumors have been reported. In an NTP (246) two-year inhalation study of mice at 50 and 100 ppm, alveolar/bronchiolar carcinomas and adenomas, papillary cystadenomas of the harderian gland, and malignant lymphomas, uterine adenocarcinomas, and mammary gland tumors were increased in one or both exposure groups. 

Several industrial facilities near a residential area emit tlie inhalable pollutants ethylene oxide, polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Tlie aimual average concentration of ethylene oxide, PCBs, and PAHs are 10 pg/in, 2 pg/m, and 5 pg/m, respectively. 

An attempt to prepare 1 -bromo-2-fluoroethane by the partial fluorination of ethylene dibromide by means of antimony trifluoride was not very successful. The compound was best prepared by the action of phosphorus tribromide on F.E.A. The compound was relatively non-toxic and the bromine atom rather unreactive, but considerably more reactive than the chlorine atom in chlorofluoroethane. For example, bromofluoroethane was readily converted by means of potassium thiocyanate into 2-fluoroethyl thiocyanate. As a lethal inhalant the toxicity of the thiocyanate was inferior to that of M.F.A. Toxicity by injection, however, appeared to be higher. 

Minor JL, Short RD, Seifter J, et al. 1978. Effects of ethylene dibromide inhaled by rats and mice during gestation. Toxicol AppI Pharmacol 45 347. 

Nitschke KD, Kociba RJ, Keyes DG, et al. 1981. A thirteen week repeated inhalation study of ethylene dibromide in rats. Fundam AppI Toxicol 1 437-442. 

Short RD, Minor JL, Winston JM, et al. 1977. Task IV. Developmental toxicity of ethylene dibromide inhaled by rats and mice during organogenesis. Toxicity studies of selected chemicals. Washington, D C. US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Toxic Substances. EPA-560/6-77-028. NTIS no. PB-273 267, 1-15 117-127. 

Vergnes JS, Pritts IM Effects of ethylene on micronucleus formation in the bone marrow of rats and mice following four weeks of inhalation exposure. Mutat Res 324(3) 87-91, 1994... 

Several human fatalities have resulted from inhalation, dermal contact, or ingestion of ethylene chlorohydrin. Typically, neurotoxic symptoms were described, and death was attributed to cardiac and respiratory collapse. One fatality was caused by exposure to an estimated 300ppm for 2.25 hours. In another fatal case, autopsy showed pulmonary edema and damage to the liver, kidneys, and brain. ... 

Short RD Jr, Minor JL, Ferguson B, et al Toxicity Studies of Selected Chemicals, Task I— The Developmental Toxicity of Ethylene Dibromide Inhaled by Rats and Mice During Organogenesis. Report No EPA-560/6-76-018. Washington, DC, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Toxic Substances, 1976... 

Wills JH, Coulston F, Harris ES, et al Inhalation of aerosolized ethylene glycol hy man. Clin Toxicol 7 463, 1974... 

Snellings W, Weil C, Maronpot R A two-year inhalation study of the carcinogenic potential of ethylene oxide in Fischer 344 rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 75 105-117, 1984... 

Miller RR, et al Comparative short-term inhalation toxicity of ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and propylene glycol monomethyl ether in rats and mice. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 61 1168-1177, 1981... 

Bolt. H.M.. Filser. J.G. Stdrmer, F. (1984) Inhalation phamracokinetics based on gas uptake studies. V. Comparative pharmacokinetics of ethylene and 1.3-butadiene in rats. Arch. Toxicol., 55. 213-218... 

Reitz, R.H., Fox, T.R., Ramsey, J.C., Quast, J.F., Langvardt, PW. Watanabe, P.G. (1982) Pharmacokinetics and macromolecular interactions of ethylene dichloride in rats after inhalation or gavage. Toxicol, appl. Pharmacol., 62, 190-204... 

Male and female Fischer 344 rats and B6C3Fj mice were exposed to 3, 15 or 75 ppm [23, 115 or 577 mg/m J ethylene dibromide for 6 h per day on five days per week for 13 weeks. Rats and mice examined after 13 weeks of exposure showed severe necrosis and atrophy of the olfactory epithelium in the nasal cavity after inhalation of 75 ppm ethylene dibromide. Lower concentrations induced squamous-cell metaplasia, hyperplasia and cytomegaly of the epithelium of the respiratory nasal turbinates. Metaplasia, hyperplasia and epithelial cytomegaly were also seen in other respiratory tissues (larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles) at this dose (Reznik et al., 1980). 

The reagent has b.p. 11 °C and is supplied either in 100-ml sealed tubes or in 100-ml cylinders equipped with an appropriate valve. The gas, which is highly flammable, has no very distinctive smell and must be regarded as a hazardous toxic reagent which must not be inhaled or allowed to come into contact with the skin and eyes. Precautions in the use of ethylene oxide are described in Expt 5.39, which may be regarded as typical. 

In addition to its powerful synergistic action with alcohol by the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase, Disulfiram exerts an equally strong synergistic toxic effect in the presence of ethylene dibromide (EDB, ref. 179) Laboratory rats exposed to 20 ppm EDB (inhalation)... 

A highly flammable compound, ethylene forms dangerously explosive mixtures with air. It is phytotoxic (toxic to plants). Ethylene, itself, is not very toxic to animals, but it is a simple asphyxiant (see Section 13.3 and Table 13.1). At high concentrations, it acts as an anesthetic to induce unconsciousness. The only significant pathway of human exposure to ethylene is through inhalation. This exposure is limited by the low blood-gas solubility ratio of ethylene, which applies at levels below saturation of blood with the gas. This ratio for ethylene is only 0.14, compared, for example, with the very high value of 15 for chloroform.4... 

Ethylene thiourea (ETU), a potentially toxic metabolite of zineb, may be involved in thyroid effects. Occupational inhalation of zineb can lead to changes... 

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