Methylene Chloride

CAS ID#: 75-09-2

Affected Organ Systems: Cancer, Dermal (Skin), Hepatic (Liver), Neurological (Nervous System)

Cancer Classification: Please contact NTP, IARC, or EPA with questions on cancer and cancer classification.

Chemical Classification: Pesticides (chemicals used for killing pests, such as rodents, insects, or plants)

Summary:

Methylene chloride is a colorless liquid with a mild, sweet odor. Another name for it is dichloromethane. Methylene chloride does not occur naturally in the environment.

Methylene chloride is used as an industrial solvent and as a paint stripper. It may also be found in some aerosol and pesticide products and is used in the manufacture of photographic film.

Community Members

ToxFAQs - Fact sheet that answers the most frequently asked questions about a contaminant and its health effects.

Emergency Responders

Medical Management Guidelines (MMG) for Acute Chemical Exposure - Publication intended to aid emergency department physicians and other emergency healthcare professionals who manage acute exposures resulting from chemical incidents.

Toxicological and Health Professionals

Priority List of Hazardous Substances - Prioritization of substances based on a combination of their frequency, toxicity, and potential for human exposure at National Priorities List (NPL) sites.

Minimal Risk Levels (MRL) - The MRL is an estimate of the daily human exposure to a hazardous substance that is likely to be without appreciable risk of adverse, non-cancer health effects over a specified duration of exposure. The information in this MRL serves as a screening tool to help public health professionals decide where to look more closely to evaluate possible risk of adverse health effects from human exposure.

Toxicological Profile - Succinctly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects information for a hazardous substance.

October 2022: Systematic Evidence Map for Methylene Chloride - Literature searches to identify available relevant studies published since the methylene chloride toxicological profile was last published in September 2000.

Page last reviewed: February 10, 2021

Content source: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry