What does toluene do to the human body?
Toluene (C₆H₅CH₃) is a colorless liquid with a sweet, pungent odor. Exposure to toluene can cause eye and nose irritation, tiredness, confusion, euphoria, dizziness, headache, dilated pupils, tears, anxiety, muscle fatigue, insomnia, nerve damage, inflammation of the skin, and liver and kidney damage.
How do you reduce toluene?
Methods of Protecting Against Toluene Substitute brush, roller or flow application for spray application. Use the smallest amount of the product that will get the job done. Ventilation is the most important protective measure to reduce the inhalation of toluene vapors where safer substitutes are not feasible.
What are acute effects of toluene?
Acute Effects:
How much toluene is toxic?
Toluene levels of 500 ppm are considered immediately dangerous to life and health. Due to genetic polymorphisms, some people may be more sensitive to the effects of inhaled solvents than others. Occupational asthma has occurred in some workers exposed to toluene levels considered safe in the workplace.
How long does toluene stay in the body?
Hippuric acid is the major metabolite of toluene, and up to 75% of inhaled toluene is excreted in the urine as hippuric acid within 12 hours after exposure (9). Toluene is retained somewhat longer in adipose tissue, where its half-life is 0.5 to 3 days (9).
Can toluene cause Parkinson’s disease?
Expert evaluators, unaware of which study subjects had Parkinson’s, reviewed this information and calculated lifelong exposure to six chemicals: TCE, PERC, carbon tetrachloride, n-hexane, xylene and toluene. Of these, TCE and PERC posed a notable risk for developing Parkinson’s.
How long does it take toluene to evaporate?
Toluene evaporates rapidly from water with an experimentally determined half-life of 2.9 to 5.7 hr for evaporation from 1 m of water with moderate mixing conditions. In a mesocosm experiment with simulated conditions for Narragansett Bay, RI, the loss was primarily by evaporation in winter with a half-life of 13 days.
What is toluene solvent?
Toluene, also known as methylbenzene, is a clear, colorless liquid with a distinctive sweet smell that is widely used in industrial settings as a solvent. Toluene also is an ingredient in some consumer products such as paints, glues and nail polish removers. Toluene occurs naturally in crude oil and in the tolu tree.
Does toluene cause brain damage?
Long-term and intense exposure to toluene vapors in humans who abuse spray paint and related substances has led to the recognition that toluene has a severe impact on central nervous system myelin. Chronic toluene abuse produces a devastating neurological disorder, of which dementia is the most disabling component.
Can toluene cause blindness?
Toluene is one of the most commonly used substances in industry and commerce and is also one of the organic solvents for which there have been reports of visual impairments in exposed workers, including impaired color discrimination (Campagna et al 2001, Cavalleri et al 2000, Zavalic et al 1998a, Zavalic et al 1998b.
What are the symptoms of toluene poisoning?
Symptoms of toluene poisoning include CNS effects (headache, dizziness, ataxia, drowsiness, euphoria, hallucinations, tremor, seizures, and coma), ventricular arrythmias, chemical pneumonitis, respiratory depression, nausea, vomiting, and electrolyte imbalances.
Does toluene cause dementia?
Chronic toluene abuse produces a devastating neurological disorder, of which dementia is the most disabling component. The clinical syndrome, toluene leukoencephalopathy, can be detected by a combination of characteristic symptoms and signs, detailed neurobehavioral evaluation, and brain magnetic resonance imaging.
What should you do if you have toluene poisoning?
If the substance is on the skin or in the eyes, flush with lots of water for at least 15 minutes. If the person swallowed the substance, give them water or milk right away, if a provider tells you to do so. DO NOT give anything to drink if the person has symptoms that make it hard to swallow.
Can a person get toluene and xylene poisoning?
Toluene and xylene are strong compounds that are used in many household and industrial products. Toluene and xylene poisoning can occur when someone swallows these substances, breathes in their fumes, or when these substances touch the skin.
What are the side effects of acute toluene intoxication?
Context: Toluene inhalation is a common form of drug abuse throughout the world. Acute toluene toxicity causes neurological changes as well as various metabolic alterations. Hypokalemic paralysis and renal failure are life-threatening complications.
What can toluene and xylene be used for?
Toluene and xylene are used in: Fingernail polish. Glues and adhesives. Lacquers. Octane booster in gasoline. Paints. Paint thinners. Printing and leather tanning processes.