Health effects of ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide (also known as ETO or oxirane) is a flammable gas with a somewhat sweet odor. It dissolves easily in water, alcohol, and most organic solvents. Ethylene
Health effects of ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide (also known as ETO or oxirane) is a flammable gas with a somewhat sweet odor. It dissolves easily in water, alcohol, and most organic solvents. Ethylene oxide is produced in large volumes and is used to make other chemicals, especially ethylene glycol, a chemical used to make antifreeze and polyester. Most ethylene oxide is used up in the factories where it is produced. A very small amount (less than 1%) is used as an insecticide on stored agricultural products such as nuts and spices.
Ethylene oxide is also used in very small amounts in hospitals to sterilize medical equipment and supplies.
When ethylene oxide is produced or used, some of the gas is released to air and water. If it is released into the air, humidity and sunlight cause it to break down within a few days. In water, ethylene oxide will either break down or be destroyed by bacteria within a few days.
Exposure to ethylene oxide
You are not likely to be exposed to ethylene in the general environment. In studies of the air quality in Texas and California, no ethylene oxide was found. There is also no evidence that ethylene oxide is commonly found in water. Because of the limited information about ethylene oxide in air, water, or soil at hazardous waste sites, we do not know how likely it is that you might be exposed to ethylene oxide at or near these sites.
You may be exposed to ethylene oxide if you work where it is produced or used. Health care workers, such as technicians, nurses, and physicians in hospitals and clinics, may have contact with ethylene oxide because it is used to sterilize medical equipment and supplies. Since ethylene oxide is used as a fumigant to spray agricultural products, if you are a farmer or work on a farm where ethylene oxide is used, you may also be exposed to this substance.
It is not known if food crops are a source of exposure to ethylene oxide for the general public. Ethylene oxide has been found at levels up to 3.5 parts of ethylene oxide per one million parts of food (3.5 ppm) in some foods shortly after being sprayed with pesticide that contains it. These levels decrease with time as ethylene oxide evaporates or breaks down into other substances, and thus little or none may remain when the food is eaten.
Pathways for ethylene oxide in the body
Ethylene oxide can enter your body when air containing this substance is breathed into your lungs. Because ethylene oxide evaporates very easily, it is unlikely that it remains in or on food or remains dissolved in water long enough to be eaten or swallowed, although this is not known for certain. It is not known if ethylene oxide can enter the body through the skin.
After a person has been exposed to ethylene oxide, it leaves the body through the urine or feces or by breathing it out through the lungs. This probably occurs very rapidly, perhaps within 2 or 3 days.
Health effects of ethylene oxide
You should know that one way to learn whether a chemical will harm people is to determine how the body absorbs, uses, and releases the chemical. For some chemicals, animal testing may be necessary. Animal testing may also help identify such health effects as cancer or birth defects. Without laboratory animals, scientists would lose a basic method for getting information needed to make wise decisions that protect public health. Scientists have the responsibility to treat research animals with care and compassion. Scientists must comply with strict animal care guidelines because laws today protect the welfare of research animals.
Additionally, there are vigorous national and international efforts to develop alternatives to animal testing. The efforts focus on both in vitro and in silico approaches and methods. For example, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) created the NTP Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) in 1998. The role of NICEATM is to serve the needs of high quality, credible science by facilitating development and validation—and regulatory and public acceptance—of innovative, revised test methods that reduce, refine, and replace the use of animals in testing while strengthening protection of human health, animal health and welfare, and the environment. In Europe, similar efforts at developing alternatives to animal based testing are taking place under the aegis of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM).
Ethylene oxide can cause a wide variety of harmful health effects in exposed persons. In general, with higher levels of exposure to the chemical, more severe effects will occur. The major effects seen in workers exposed to ethylene oxide at low levels for several months or years are irritation of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes and problems in the functioning of the brain and nerves. At higher levels of exposure to ethylene oxide, which may result from accidents or equipment breakdown, the types o