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ETHYLBENZENE*
Characteristics
Ethylbenzene is a colorless, flammable liquid that smells like gasoline.
It is naturally found in coal tar and petroleum and is also found in manufactured products such as inks, pesticides, and paints. Ethylbenzene is used primarily to make another chemical, styrene. Other uses include as a solvent, in fuels, and to make other chemicals.
Sources of Exposure
Ethylbenzene moves easily into the air from water and soil. It takes about 3 days for ethylbenzene to be broken down in air into other chemicals. In surface water, ethylbenzene breaks down by reacting with other chemicals found naturally in water. Ethylbenzene can move through soil into groundwater. In soil, it is broken down by bacteria.
If you live in a city or near many factories or heavily traveled highways, you may be exposed to ethylbenzene in air. Releases of ethylbenzene into the air occur from burning oil, gas, and coal and from industries using ethylbenzene.
Ethylbenzene is not often found in drinking water; however, high levels may be found in residential drinking water wells near landfills, waste sites, or leaking underground fuel storage tanks. Exposure can occur if you work in an industry where
ethylbenzene is used or made. Exposure can occur if you use products containing it, such as gasoline, carpet glues, varnishes, and paints.
GZA Geoenvironmental
Tidewater site; apartment building in background
Effects on Health
Exposure to high levels of ethylbenzene in air for short periods can cause eye and throat irritation. Exposure to higher levels can result in dizziness. Irreversible damage to the inner ear and hearing has been observed in animals exposed to relatively low concentrations of ethylbenzene for several days to weeks. Exposure to relatively low concentrations of ethylbenzene in air for several months to years causes kidney damage in animals. Ethylbenzene is found in the blood, urine, breath, and some body tissues of exposed people. The most common way to test for ethylbenzene is in the urine. Ethylbenzene is listed as a possible human carcinogen.
Effects on Children
There are no studies evaluating the effects of ethylbenzene exposure on children or immature animals. It is likely that children would have the same health effects as adults. We do not know whether children would be more sensitive than adults to the effects of ethylbenzene. We do not know if ethylbenzene will cause birth defects in humans. Minor birth defects and low birth weight have occurred in newborn animals whose mothers were exposed to ethylbenzene in air during pregnancy.
Recommendations
The EPA has determined that exposure to ethylbenzene in drinking water at concentrations of 30 mg/L for 1 day or 3 mg/L for 10 days is not expected to cause any adverse effects in a child. The EPA has determined that lifetime exposure to 0.7 mg/L ethylbenzene is not expected to cause any adverse effects. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has limited workers' exposure to an average of 100 ppm for an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek.
* Compiled by Elizabeth Limbrick, New Jersey Institute of Technology Technical Assistance to Brownfield Communities (TAB) Program. Source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 2010