2,4Diaminotoluene [factsheet]

2,4-DIAMINOTOLUENE

Please Note: The main source of information for this fact sheet is EPA's Health and Environmental Effects Profile for 2,4-Toluenediamine. Other secondary sources include the Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), a database of summaries of peer-reviewed literature, and the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS), a database of toxic effects that are not peer reviewed.

Environmental/Occupational Exposure

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene was identified but not quantified in wastewater samples from an unspecified industry. (1)

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene was found to leach from boil-in-bags and pouches into water at low concentrations. (1)

* Exposure to 2,4-diaminotoluene is possible through the inhalation of air in polyurethane plants. (2)

Assessing Personal Exposure

* There is no known reliable test to determine whether you have been exposed to

2,4-diaminotoluene, but it is suggested that periodic physical examinations including study of liver function and red blood count can be helpful in monitoring exposure. (3)

Health Hazard Information

Acute Effects:

* In humans, acute (short-term) exposures to 2,4-diaminotoluene produces severe skin and eye irritation sometimes leading to permanent blindness. Other effects include breathing problems such as asthma, stomach gas, rise in blood pressure, dizziness, convulsions, fainting, and coma. (3)

* Tests involving acute exposure of animals, such as the LD₅₀ test in rats, mice, and rabbits, have shown 2,4-diaminotoluene to have high to moderate toxicity. (4)

Chronic Effects (Noncancer):

* No information is available regarding the long-term (chronic) effects of 2,4-diaminotoluene in humans.

* Long-term (chronic) animal studies have reported liver injury to rats and mice. Focal degenerative liver changes were observed in both sexes of both species. (1)

* EPA has not established an RfD for 2,4-diaminotoluene. (5)

* EPA has determined the health effects data on 2,4-diaminotoluene to be inadequate for the derivation of an RfC. (5)

Reproductive/Developmental Effects:

* In humans occupationally exposed to 2,4-diaminotoluene, several studies lacked evidence of statistically significant reproductive or developmental effects. (1)

* Developmental and reproductive effects were observed in animals including a significant decrease in the number of births and increases in maternal deaths and stillbirths and resorptions. (1)

Cancer Risk:

* No studies were located concerning the carcinogenicity of 2,4-diaminotoluene in humans.

* In animal studies, 2,4-diaminotoluene was carcinogenic following dietary administration to mice and rats, producing a significant increase in the incidence of a large variety of tumor types, including liver, mammary gland, subcutaneous fibromas, lung lymphomas, and leukemia. The liver tumors were the most prevalent tumor type observed in both rats and mice. (1)

* EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, for a hazard ranking under Section 112(g) of the Clean Air Act Amendments, has ranked 2,4-diaminotoluene in the nonthreshold category. The 1/ED₁₀ value is 6.5 per (mg/kg)/d and this would place it in the medium category under Superfund's ranking for carcinogenic hazard. (6)

* EPA has classified 2,4-diaminotoluene as a Group B2, a probable human carcinogen. (6)

Physical Properties

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene is a colorless, crystalline solid. (1)

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene is very soluble in hot water. (7)

* The chemical formula for 2,4-diaminotoluene is C₇H₁₀N₂, and it has a molecular weight of 122.17 g/mol. (1)

* The vapor pressure for 2,4-diaminotoluene is 0.249 mm Hg at 25 EC, and the partition coefficient (log K_ow) is 0.337. (8)

Uses

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene is used primarily in the production of toluene diisocyanate, which is used in the production of polyurethane. It is used as an intermediate in the synthesis of dyes and heterocyclic compounds. (1)

* 2,4-Diaminotoluene is also used to prepare direct oxidation black, a dye for hair and furs, and to prepare dyes for leather. (1)

* Other uses of 2,4-diaminotoluene include enhancement of thermal stability in polyamides, fatigue resistance and dyeability in fibers, and the preparation of impact-resistant resins, polyimides with superior wire-coating properties, benzimidazolethiols (antioxidants), hydraulic fluids, urethane foams, fungicide stabilizers, and sensitizers for explosives. (1)

Note: There are very few health numbers or regulatory/advisory numbers for 2,4-diaminotoluene; thus, a graph has not been prepared for this compound.

References

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Health and Environmental Effects Profile for 2,4-Toluenediamine. Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH. 1986.

2. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Volume 16. World Health Organization, Lyon. 1978.

3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB, online database). National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 1993.

4. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS, online database). National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 1993.

5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) on 2,4-Diaminotoluene. Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, OH. 1993.

6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Technical Background Document to Support Rulemaking Pursuant to the Clean Air ActCSection 112(g). Ranking of Pollutants with Respect to Hazard to Human Health. EPAB450/3-92-010. Emissions Standards Division, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Research Triangle Park, NC. 1994.

7. R.C. Weast and M.J. Astle. Eds. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 63rd ed. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. 1982.

8. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Assessment Tools for the Evaluation of Risk (ASTER, online database). Environmental Research Laboratory, Duluth, MN. 1993.