Under the proposed guidelines for carcinogen risk assessment u. A tanker car punctured during a train derailment released approximately 24, 000 gallons of vinyl chloride on the edge of a small town. The major issue with this process is that fact that the catalyst used, mercuric chloride, is a very volatile compound. After an aggressive lobbying campaign from industry, a final epa vinyl chloride assessment completed in 2000 after industry protest, excluded risk to organs other than. Volume 11 the national academy of sciences is a private, nonprofit, selfperpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the. Acute exposure can cause respiratory irritation and headache, drowsiness, and dizziness. A thresholded mode of carcinogenic action is thought to be active. This teach chemical summary is a compilation of information derived primarily from u. Chronic or longterm exposure to vinyl chloride may result in skin.
Vinyl chloride vc risk science program rsp department of environmental toxicology. The reliability of the exposure assessment is critically depending on the availability of analytical tools to determine the. Exposure assessment of vinyl chloride monomer in the. Usa were potentially exposed to vinyl chloride see general remarks.
In section 6, epa has characterized its overall confidence in the quantitative and qualitative aspects of hazard and dose response. Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula h 2 cchcl that is also called vinyl chloride monomer vcm or chloroethene. There are a number of ways in which a person can become exposed to vinyl chloride, including through. Vinyl chloride, a colorless gas with a mild, sweet odor, is used in plastics manufacture. Quantitative risk assessment for community exposure. Chronic longterm exposure to vinyl chloride through inhalation and oral exposure in humans has resulted in liver damage. The primary route of exposure to vinyl chloride is inhalation, approximately 40%. Vinyl chloride and its metabolites 2chloroethylene oxide, 2chloroethylene aldehyde and 2chloroethanol are mutagenic in various test systems 26. In 1974, vinyl chloride vc was first reported in the open scientific literature to induce angiosarcoma of. Toxicity of the pyrolysis and combustion products of poly.
The main sources of information for this fact sheet are the agency for toxic substances and disease. Jul 01, 2005 in 1994, the cmas vinyl chloride panel initiated plans to work with the u. Vinyl chloride can be detected in urine and body tissues, but the tests are. In lithuania, industries where pvc is used belong to the group of workplaces with low vcm exposure levels. Polyvinyl chlorides are high molecular weight polymers formed by the free radical polymerization of vinyl chloride monomers. The structure is primarily the linear headtotail configur ation but various irregularities can occur in the chain structure. The main route of occupational exposure is by inhalation, which occurs primarily in vinyl chloridepvc plants and in pvc processing plants. Employers shall ensure that each employee has access to labels on containers of vinyl chloride and to safety data sheets, and is trained in accordance with the requirements of hcs and paragraph j of this section. Investigators studying the effects of vinyl chloride exposure frequently report central nervous system symptoms that are consistent with the anesthetic properties of vinyl chloride. In december 2012, vinyl chloride was released from a breached tank car after a train derailment in new jersey.
Acute exposure guideline levels for selected airborne. This iris assessment for vinyl chloride consists of hazard identification and doseresponse assessment data and provides support for epa risk management decisions. Vinyl chloride and the workplace communications workers of. Vinyl chloride, a gas used to make plastics, is an acute respiratory irritant that can cause headache, drowsiness, and dizziness. In 1998, for the implementation of occupational cancer prevention, lithuania adopted the regulations on employees protection from contact with vinyl chloride monomer vcm in accordance with the european union council directives 78610eec and 91155eec. After an aggressive lobbying campaign from industry, a final epa vinyl chloride assessment completed in 2000 after industry protest, excluded risk to organs other than the liver, which limited the development of truly protective health standards based on total cancer risk to all organs from vinyl chloride exposure. All of these symptoms have multiple causes, and many may occur as a result of anxiety, fear or stress induced by traumatic events.
Incident investigations national toxic substance incidents. You may need a pdf reader to view some of the files on this page. The teach database contains summaries of research studies pertaining to developmental exposure andor. Health effects of exposure to general plastic odors or. The observed tumor responses are reflecting the target sitespecific enzyme activities. Vinyl chloride is a skin irritant causing a skin rash or contact dermatitis. Nervous system toxicity has been observed in inhalation studies at high exposure levels. It is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the. The us epa and fda limit vinyl chloride in drinking water to 0. Also, contact with the eyes will result in immediate and severe irritation.
Studies of workers occupationally exposed to vinyl chloride suggest that the. Health effects of exposure to general plastic odors or vinyl odors in the home. The study of health effects of vinyl chloride air pollution on population. The most important exposure route is air contamination from vc and pvc. Portal hypertension, peripheral circulatory disturbances and malignancies such as angiosarcoma were all reported to be associated with exposure to vc 1, 2. Assessment of emergency responders after a vinyl chloride. Acute exposure guideline levels for selected airborne chemicals. The pbpk model would be a useful tool in such risk assessment. Vinyl chloride results aegl programs acute exposure. Doctors pinpointed the carcinogenicity of vinyl chloride in the late 1960s.
Further, severe vinyl chloride exposure may cause death. It is so volatile that much of the development work on this. Work people who work with vinyl chloride are at the highest risk of vinyl chloride exposure. Vinyl chloride volume11 aegl technical support document pdf 108 pp, 745 k. Effects on humans toxicological effects between 1949 and 1974, a variety of effects of exposure to vc were documented. Vinyl chloride exposure study of the community and local. The hepatotoxicity of vinyl chloride has long been established since the 1930s when the pvc industry was just in its infant stages. Exposure assessment is defined as the qualitative andor quantitative evaluation of the likely intake of biological, chemical or physical agents via food, as well as exposure from other sources if relevant faowho, 1997. With the development of the plastics industry, diseases caused by exposure to vinyl chloride vc and poly vinyl chloride pvc had been identified by 1970. Exposure assessment an overview sciencedirect topics. Vinyl chloride exposure questionnaire pdf djf addition from atsdr. Exposure to vinyl chloride over many years can affect the liver, nervous system, and skin. Following inhalation and oral exposure vinyl acetate is rapidly hydrolysed by.
All are animal carcinogens that also have received considerable epidemiologic. The us osha limits vinyl chloride exposure of workers to no more than 1 ppm for eight hours or 5 ppm for 15 minutes. Bottassoan epidemiological study of vinyl chloride exposed. Addendum to the toxicological profile for vinyl chloride. It is not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the chemical or toxicological nature of vinyl chloride. Colorless physical state compressed, liquefied gas odor. Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer hepatic angiosarcoma, as well as brain and lung cancers, lymphoma, and leukemia. The modeling effort includes multimedia transport and transformation models, exposure scenario models, and efforts to quantify and reduce uncertainty in multimedia, multiplepathway exposure models.
Studies of workers in polyvinyl chloride polymerization of certain plastic and rubber factories revealed that numerous workers had been diagnosed with liver angiosarcoma. Jun 04, 2012 with the development of the plastics industry, diseases caused by exposure to vinyl chloride vc and poly vinyl chloride pvc had been identified by 1970. Contact with the liquid may also cause frostbite upon evaporation. There is little doubt that exposure to high levels of vcm as a consequence of occupation can result in an increased incidence of asl. The main sources of information for this fact sheet are the agency for toxic substances and disease registrys atsdrs toxicological profile for vinyl chloride 1 and. Repeated exposure to vinyl chloride may cause liver toxicity, neurological and behavioural. Ct findings related to exposure to polyvinyl chloride. Vinyl acetate exposure produced tumors at the site of first contact along the exposure routes. Exposure assessment of vinyl chloride monomer in the workplace. Epa has classified vinyl chloride as a group a, human carcinogen. Cancer is a major concern from exposure to vinyl chloride via inhalation, as vinyl chloride exposure has been shown to increase the risk of a rare form of liver cancer in humans.
Assessment of emergency responders after a vinyl chloride release from a train derailment new. Shah, the industry panel manager, confirmed that the u. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride pvc. At standard temperature and pressure, vinyl chloride vc is a nonirritating. An assessment of the risk of occupational exposure. Toxic exposure injury attorneys serving clients nationwide. Employers shall include vinyl chloride in the hazard communication program established to comply with the hcs 1910.
Pmc free article purchase if, stafford j, paddle gm. Vinyl chloride was once considered for use as an inhalation anesthetic. Vinyl chloride cancercausing substances national cancer. Epa, toxicity and exposure assessment for childrens health. The teach database contains summaries of research studies pertaining to developmental exposure andor health effects for each chemical or. Vinyl chloride exposure is known to increase the risk of angiosarcoma of the liver in humans 118, and there has been some evidence that exposure is also associated with increased cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, though these reports remain controversial 118121. Epa, 1996, it is concluded that vc is a known human carcinogen by the inhalation route of exposure, based on human epidemiological data, and by analogy the oral route because of positive animal bioassay data as well as pharmacokinetic data allowing dose extrapolation across routes. A single small exposure to vinyl chloride from which a person recovers quickly is unlikely to cause delayed or longterm effects.
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