Jet Propulsion Fuel

National Research Council (NRC), Board on Environmental Studies of Toxicology (BEST), Toxicologic assessment of jet-propulsion fuel-8, Washington, DC National Academy Press,... 

Robledo, R.F., Barber, D.S., and Witten, M.L., Modulation of bronchial epithelial cell barrier function by in vitro jet propulsion fuel 8 exposure, Toxicol. Sci., 51, 119, 1999. 

Jackman, S.M., et al., DNA damage assessment by comet assay of human lymphocytes exposed to jet propulsion fuels, Environ, Mol. Mutagen., 40, 18, 2002. 

Refs 1) O.E. Lancaster, Ed, High Speed Aerodynamics Jet Propulsion, Vol XII, Jet Propulsion Engines, Princeton, NJ, Princeton Univ Press (1959) 2) N.A. Ragozin, Jet Propulsion Fuels, Pergamon Press, NY (1961) 3) R.E. Weich, Jr R.F. Strauss, Funda-... 

To demonstrate how the subcommittee s recommended evaluative process can be applied to specific agents, the subcommittee evaluated two compounds of interest to the Navy jet propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) 134a. These assessments demonstrate that the subcommittee s recommended process can be used to evaluate compounds for which varying amounts of data are available. For example, several reproductive and developmental toxicity studies have been conducted for HFC 134a however, just one developmental toxicity study has been conducted for JP-8. The subcommittee calculated a UEL based on at least one endpoint for each compound, accounting for uncertainties due to deficiencies in the database. Regardless of the quantity of data available, the subcommittee found that considerable scientific judgment was needed to conduct the evaluations. 

Jet propulsion fuel JP-8 is the fuel used by the U.S. Air Force and other services to fuel jets and other military vehicles. JP-8 is a mixture of hundreds of chemicals, mostly alkanes in the C8 to C17 range, and aromatics, including substituted benzenes and naphthalenes. The exact composition of JP-8 varies from batch to batch. 

Toxicologic Assessment of Jet-Propulsion Fuel 8 Nervous System... 

Jet-propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8) is a kerosene-based multipurpose fuel that is in wide use by the U.S. military. The military is in the process of converting to JP-8 for use in all its aircraft (except Navy ship-based aircraft, which will continue to use JP-5), ground vehicles, and support equipment, such as generators, cooking stoves, and tent heaters (Makris 1994 Edwards et al. 2001). 

Since the release of the 1996 NRC report, additional data on JP-8 have been generated. In light of those data, the U.S. Air Force asked the NRC to review the toxicologic, epidemiologic, and other relevant data on JP-8 vapors and aerosols to assess the scientific basis of the interim PEL of 350 mg/m3 proposed by DOD, identify data gaps, and make recommendations for future research relevant to deriving the PEL. The NRC assigned the project to COT and assembled the Subcommittee on Jet-Propulsion Fuel 8, which prepared the present report. 

This chapter discusses issues relevant to assessing exposure of military personnel to jet-propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8). The chapter begins with a description of various scenarios under which military personnel are exposed to JP-8, followed by a brief discussion of the challenges of quantifying human exposure to this distillate fuel. The next section contains a summary of data from studies that have measured concentrations of several components of JP-8 in ambient air at Air Force aircraft maintenance sites. Studies measuring body burden of several JP-8 components in workers involved in aircraft maintenance are also presented. The final section of this chapter describes how the physical and chemical properties of JP-8 affect uptake into the body from exposure by the inhalation, dermal, and oral routes. This last section also serves as a prelude to interpretation of animal toxicity studies conducted with distillate fuels (e.g., JP-8) that are described in later chapters. 

This chapter contains a review of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics data for jet-propulsion fuel 8 (JP-8). Given the presence of hundreds of hydrocarbons in JP-8, it is impractical to describe here the toxicokinetics and disposition of each component hydrocarbon. In the previous National Research Council (NRC) report, Permissible Exposure Eevels for Selected Military Fuel Vapors, the toxicokinetics of some toxic components of JP-8—including benzene and alkylbenzenes (such as xylenes and toluene)—were discussed in detail (NRC 1996). 

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