- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry
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- This fact sheet answers the most frequently
asked health questions about 1,2-dibromoethane. For more information, you
may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-800-447-1544. This fact sheet
is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health
effects. 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.
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- SUMMARY: Exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane
can result from drinking groundwater or breathing air that is contaminated.
This is most likely to occur in the workplace or from living near a hazardous
waste site. 1,2-Dibromoethane can affect the brain, damage skin, damage
sperm in males, and even cause death if exposure is very high. This chemical
has been found in at least 27 of 1,416 National Priorities List sites identified
by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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- What is 1,2-dibromoethane? (Pronounced
1,2-di-bromo-eth'ane)
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- 1,2-Dibromoethane is a manufactured chemical.
It also occurs naturally in small amounts in the ocean where it is formed,
probably by algae and kelp. It is a colorless liquid with a mild, sweet
odor. Other names for 1,2-dibromoethane are ethylene dibromide, EDB, and
glycol bromide. Trade names include Bromofume and Dowfume.
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- 1,2-Dibromoethane has been used as a
pesticide in soil, and on citrus, vegetable, and grain crops. Most of these
uses have been stopped by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since
1984. Another major use was as an additive in leaded gasoline; however,
since leaded gasoline is now banned, it is no longer used for this purpose.
Uses today include treatment of logs for termites and beetles, control
of moths in beehives, and as a preparation for dyes and waxes.
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- What happens to 1,2-dibromoethane when
it enters the environment?
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- * It moves into the environment from
manufacturing use and leaks at waste sites. * When released, it quickly
moves to air and will evaporate from surface water and soil to the air.
* It dissolves in water and will move through soil into the groundwater.
* Small amounts remain attached to soil particles. * It breaks down slowly
in air (over 4-5 months), more quickly in surface water (2 months), and
hardly at all in groundwater. * It is not expected to build up in plants
or animals.
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- How might I be exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane?
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- * Drinking contaminated water, especially
well water near farms or waste sites * Breathing contaminated workplace
air * Skin contact when using it or from bathing or swimming in contaminated
water * Playing in contaminated soils at waste sites.
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- How can 1,2-dibromoethane affect my health?
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- Your exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane is
generally much, much lower than levels that can harm you. We don't know
the effects on people of breathing high levels, but animal studies with
short-term exposures to high levels caused depression and collapse, indicating
effects on the brain.
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- Redness and inflammation, including skin
blisters and mouth and stomach ulcers, can occur if large amounts are swallowed.
One accidental swallowing caused death in a woman. It is highly unlikely
that there would be a risk of death to people from low-level exposure.
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- Although very little is known about the
effects from breathing 1,2-dibromoethane over a long period of time, some
male workers had reproductive effects including damage to their sperm.
No other long-term effects are known in people.
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- In rats, death occurred from breathing
high levels for a short time. Lower levels caused liver and kidney damage.
When rats breathed air or ate food containing 1,2-dibromoethane for short
or long periods of time, they were less fertile or had abnormal sperm.
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- Changes in the brain and behavior were
also seen in young rats whose male parents had breathed 1,2-dibromoethane,
and birth defects were observed in the young of animals that were exposed
while pregnant. 1,2-Dibromoethane is not known to cause birth defects in
people.
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- How likely is 1,2-dibromoethane to cause
cancer?
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- The Department of Health and Human Services
has determined that 1 2-dibromoethane may reasonably be anticipated to
be a carcinogen.
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- There are no reports of cancer in workers
or other people exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane for several years. However,
rats and mice that breathed, swallowed, or touched it for long periods
had cancer in many organs.
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- Is there a medical test to show whether
I've been exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane?
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- There is no reliable medical test to
determine whether you have been exposed to 1,2-dibromoethane. Experimental
methods exist to measure 1,2-dibromoethane or the bromide ion, a breakdown
product of 1,2-dibromoethane, in blood. These tests cannot be done at your
doctor's office, but your doctor may be able to send samples to a special
laboratory.
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- Has the federal government made recommendations
to protect human health?
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- The EPA has set a limit of 0.05 parts
of 1,2-dibromoethane per billion parts of drinking water (0.05 ppb). EPA
requires that spills into the environment of 1,000 pounds or more of 1,2-dibromoethane
be reported.
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- The Occupational Health and Safety Administration
(OSHA) has limited workers' exposure to an average of 20 parts of 1,2-dibromoethane
per million parts of air (ppm) for an 8-hour workday over a 40-hour workweek.
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- The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) has limited workers' exposure to 1,2-dibromoethane
in air to an average of 0.045 ppm for up to a 10-hour workday over a 40-hour
workweek.
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- Glossary
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- Carcinogen: A substance that can cause
cancer. Long-term: Lasting one year or longer. PPB: Parts per billion.
PPM: Parts per million. Short-term: Lasting 14 days or less.
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- References Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1992. Toxicological profile for 1,2-dibromoethane.
Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health
Service.
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- Where can I get more information? ATSDR
can tell you where to find occupational and environmental health clinics.
Their specialists can recognize, evaluate, and treat illnesses resulting
from exposure to hazardous substances. You can also contact your community
or state health or environmental quality department if you have any more
questions or concerns.
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- For more information, contact:
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- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry
- Division of Toxicology
- 1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop E-29
- Atlanta, GA 30333
- Phone: 1-800-447-1544
- FAX: 404-639-6315
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