Health effects of ethylene oxide
Contents
Introduction
Ethylene oxide (also known as ETO or oxirane) is a flammable gas with a somewhat sweet odor. It dissolves easily in water, alcohol, and most organic solvents. Ethylene oxide is produced in large volumes and is used to make other chemicals, especially ethylene glycol, a chemical used to make antifreeze and polyester. Most ethylene oxide is used up in the factories where it is produced. A very small amount (less than 1%) is used as an insecticide on stored agricultural products such as nuts and spices. Ethylene oxide is also used in very small amounts in hospitals to sterilize medical equipment and supplies. When ethylene oxide is produced or used, some of the gas is released to air and water. If it is released into the air, humidity and sunlight cause it to break down within a few days. In water, ethylene oxide will either break down or be destroyed by bacteria within a few days. (Health effects of ethylene oxide)
Exposure to ethylene oxide
You are not likely to be exposed to ethylene in the general environment. In studies of the air quality in Texas and California, no ethylene oxide was found. There is also no evidence that ethylene oxide is commonly found in water. Because of the limited information about ethylene oxide in air, water, or soil at hazardous waste sites, we do not know how likely it is that you might be exposed to ethylene oxide at or near these sites.
You may be exposed to ethylene oxide if you work where it is produced or used. Health care workers, such as technicians, nurses, and physicians in hospitals and clinics, may have contact with ethylene oxide because it is used to sterilize medical equipment and supplies. Since ethylene oxide is used as a fumigant to spray agricultural products, if you are a farmer or work on a farm where ethylene oxide is used, you may also be exposed to this substance.
It is not known if food crops are a source of exposure to ethylene oxide for the general public. Ethylene oxide has been found at levels up to 3.5 parts of ethylene oxide per one million parts of food (3.5 ppm) in some foods shortly after being sprayed with pesticide that contains it. These levels decrease with time as ethylene oxide evaporates or breaks down into other substances, and thus little or none may remain when the food is eaten.
Pathways for ethylene oxide in the body
Ethylene oxide can enter your body when air containing this substance is breathed into your lungs. Because ethylene oxide evaporates very easily, it is unlikely that it remains in or on food or remains dissolved in water long enough to be eaten or swallowed, although this is not known for certain. It is not known if ethylene oxide can enter the body through the skin.
After a person has been exposed to ethylene oxide, it leaves the body through the urine or feces or by breathing it out through the lungs. This probably occurs very rapidly, perhaps within 2 or 3 days.
Health effects of ethylene oxide
You should know that one way to learn whether a chemical will harm people is to determine how the body absorbs, uses, and releases the chemical. For some chemicals, animal testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also help identify such health effects as cancer or birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists would lose a basic method for getting information needed to make wise decisions that protect public health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat research animals with care and compassion. Scientists must comply with strict animal care guidelines because laws today protect the welfare of research animals.
Additionally, there are vigorous national and international efforts to develop alternatives to animal testing. The efforts focus on both in vitro and in silico approaches and methods. For example, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) created the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) in 1998. The role of NICEATM is to serve the needs of high quality, credible science by facilitating development and validation—and regulatory and public acceptance—of innovative, revised test methods that reduce, refine, and replace the use of animals in testing while strengthening protection of human health, animal health and welfare, and the environment. In Europe, similar efforts at developing alternatives to animal based testing are taking place under the aegis of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM).
Ethylene oxide can cause a wide variety of harmful health effects in exposed persons. In general, with higher levels of exposure to the chemical, more severe effects will occur. The major effects seen in workers exposed to ethylene oxide at low levels for several months or years are irritation of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes and problems in the functioning of the brain and nerves. At higher levels of exposure to ethylene oxide, which may result from accidents or equipment breakdown, the types of effects are similar, but they are more severe and harmful. There is also some evidence that exposure to ethylene oxide can cause an increased rate of miscarriages in female workers exposed to ethylene oxide. Studies in animals have shown that breathing ethylene oxide at high levels can interfere with their ability to reproduce. Litter sizes have been smaller than usual, and the babies of exposed animals have weighed less than normal and have had delayed bone formation.
Scale studies of workers exposed to ethylene oxide in ethylene oxide factories or hospital sterilizing rooms have shown an increased incidence of leukemia, stomach cancer, cancer of the pancreas and Hodgkin's disease. Ethylene oxide has also been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. Leukemia, brain tumors, lung tumors and tumors of the tear glands of the eye have been found.
Harmful levels of exposure to ethylene oxide
Skin contact with ethylene oxide can result in blisters and burns that may appear to be similar to frostbite. With longer times of contact, there is a more severe reaction. Eye damage can also result from ethylene oxide contact.
It is possible to smell ethylene oxide if it is present in water at or above 140 mg per liter (about one quart) of water. It can also be smelled in air if it is present at or above 430 ppm (430 parts of ethylene oxide per million parts of air).
Exposure to high levels (700 ppm) of ethylene oxide in air has resulted in seizures and cataracts in people. Exposure to lower levels has resulted in problems with hand/eye coordination and eye and nose irritation. In animals, kidney damage has been seen at levels of 100 ppm, while lower levels (50 ppm) have resulted in decreased physical activity.
Medical tests for exposure to ethylene oxide
There are two kinds of tests that can determine if you have been exposed to ethylene oxide within the last couple of days. These tests are not routinely done in a doctor's office, but can be done in a special laboratory. One test measures this substance in blood, the other measures it in air that you breathe out of your lungs. If you were exposed to ethylene oxide more than two or three days ago, there may be no ethylene oxide remaining in your body. In addition, if you have been exposed to very low levels of ethylene oxide, these tests may not detect it. The results of these tests cannot be used to predict the type or severity of health effects resulting from exposure.
Further Reading
| Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains information that was originally published by, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of Earth may have edited its content or added new information. The use of information from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry should not be construed as support for or endorsement by that organization for any new information added by EoE personnel, or for any editing of the original content. |
