Quinone [factsheet]

QUINONE

(1,4-BENZOQUINONE)

Please Note: The main sources of information for this fact sheet are the Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), a database of summaries of peer-reviewed literature, and the Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens. Other secondary sources include the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS), a database of toxic effects that are not peer reviewed, and the IARC monographs on chemicals carcinogenic to man.

Environmental/Occupational Exposure

* Occupational exposure to quinone may occur in the dye, textile, chemical, tanning, and cosmetic industries. (1)

* Inhalation exposure to quinone may occur from tobacco smoke. (2)

Assessing Personal Exposure

* No information is available on the assessment of personal exposure to quinone.

Health Hazard Information

Acute Effects:

* Acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of quinone, via inhalation in humans, is highly irritating to the eyes, resulting in discoloration of the conjunctiva and cornea, while dermal exposure causes dermatitis with skin discoloration and erythema. (1,2)

* Animal studies have reported effects on the kidneys from exposure to quinone. (2)

* Tests involving acute exposure of animals, such as the LD₅₀ test in rats, have shown quinone to have high acute toxicity from oral exposure. (3)

Chronic Effects (Noncancer):

* Chronic (long-term) dermal contact to quinone in humans may result in skin ulceration, while chronic inhalation exposure may result in visual disturbances. (1,2)

* EPA has determined that there are inadequate data to establish an RfC for quinone. (4)

* EPA has not established an RfD for quinone. (4)

Reproductive/Developmental Effects:

* No information is available on the reproductive or developmental effects of quinone in humans or animals.

Cancer Risk:

* No information is available on the carcinogenic effects of quinone in humans.

* Quinone has been tested (in older animal studies) by dermal application, inhalation, and subcutaneous injection. However, the results are insufficient to evaluate the carcinogenicity of the compound. (5)

* EPA has not classified quinone for carcinogenicity.

* IARC has classified quinone as a Group 3, not classifiable as to the carcinogenicity to humans. (5)

Physical Properties

* Quinone exists as yellow prisms, with a penetrating odor resembling that of chlorine. (5)

* The odor threshold for quinone is 0.084 ppm. (6)

* The chemical formula for quinone is C₆H₄O₂, and the molecular weight is 108.1 g/mol. (1)

* The log octanol/water partition coefficient (Log K_ow) for quinone is 0.20. (2)

Uses

* Quinone is used as a chemical intermediate, a polymerization inhibitor, an oxidizing agent, a photographic chemical, a tanning agent, and a chemical reagent. (5)

Health Data from Inhalation Exposure

Concentration (mg/m³)	Health numbers^a	Regulatory, advisory numbers^b	Reference
1,000,000.0
_ _ _ _ 100,000.0
_ _ _ _ 10,000.0
_ _ _ _ 1,000.0
_ _ _ _ 100.0		* ACGIH IDLH (331 mg/m³)	1
_ _ _ _ 10.0
_ _ _ _ 1.0		* ACGIH STEL (2.0 mg/m³)	1
_ _ _ _ 0.1		* OSHA PEL and ACGIH TLV (0.4 mg/m³)	1

ACGIH IDLHCAmerican Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists' immediately dangerous to life and health; concentration representing the maximum level of a pollutant from which an individual could escape within 30 min without escape-impairing symptoms or irreversible health effects.

ACGIH STELCAmerican Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists' short-term exposure limit; 15-min time-weighted-average exposure that should not be exceeded at any time during a workday even if the 8-h time-weighted-average is within the threshold limit value.

ACGIH TLVCAmerican Conference of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists' threshold limit value expressed as a time-weighted average; the concentration of a substance to which most workers can be exposed without adverse effects.

OSHA PELCOccupational Safety and Health Administration's permissible exposure limit expressed as a time-weighted average; the concentration of a substance to which most workers can be exposed without adverse effect averaged over a normal 8-h workday or a 40-h workweek.

^a Health numbers are toxicological numbers from animal testing or risk assessment values developed by EPA.

^b Regulatory numbers are values that have been incorporated in Government regulations, while advisory numbers are nonregulatory values provided by the Government or other groups as advice.

References

1. M. Sittig. Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens. 2nd ed. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ. 1985.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

5. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Volume 15. World Health Organization, Lyon. 1977.

6. J.E. Amoore and E. Hautala. Odor as an aid to chemical safety: Odor thresholds compared with threshold limit values and volatilities for 214 industrial chemicals in air and water dilution. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 3(6):272-290. 1983.