Criteria for a Recommended Standard:
Occupational Exposure to Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether,
Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether, and Their Acetates
CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) recently published a document entitled Criteria for a
Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Ethylene Glycol
Monomethyl Ether, Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether, and Their
Acetates * (1). This document examines the occupational health
risks
associated with exposure to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether
(EGME), ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGEE), and their
acetates -- ethylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (EGMEA) and
ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate (EGEEA). Criteria are also
provided for eliminating or minimizing the risks encountered by
workers during the manufacture and use of these glycol ethers.
These glycol ethers adversely affect the blood, liver, and
kidneys and the central nervous and hematopoietic systems. Studies
in animals have demonstrated dose-related malformations, growth
retardation, and embryonic death in the offspring of pregnant
animals exposed to airborne concentrations of EGME or EGEE at or
below their respective Occupational Safety and Health
Administration permissible exposure limits (PELs). In addition,
testicular atrophy and infertility occurred in male animals exposed
to airborne concentrations of EGME or EGEE at or below their PELs.
EGMEA and EGEEA have the same potential for reproductive and
developmental effects as the parent compounds because they are
metabolized to EGME and EGEE, respectively.
NIOSH therefore recommends that exposure to EGME and EGMEA in
the workplace be limited to 0.1 part per million (ppm) (0.3 mg
EGME/m3 and 0.5 mg EGMEA/m3) as a time-weighted average (TWA) for
up to 10 hours per day during a 40-hour workweek. NIOSH also
recommends that exposure to EGEE and EGEEA be limited to 0.5 ppm
(1.8 mg EGEE/m3 and 2.7 mg EGEEA/m3) as a 10-hour TWA. Exposure to
these glycol ethers shall be reduced using state-of-the-art
engineering controls and work practices. Dermal contact is
prohibited because EGME, EGEE, and their acetates are readily
absorbed through the skin.
Reference
NIOSH. Criteria for a recommended standard: occupational
exposure to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol
monoethyl ether, and their acetates. Cincinnati: US Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1991; DHHS
publication no. (NIOSH)91-119.
Single copies of this document are available without charge from
the Information Dissemination Section, Division of Standards
Development and Technology Transfer, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway,
Cincinnati, OH 45226; telephone (513) 533-8287.
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