ToxFAQs™ for Aniline
Spanish: Anilina
CAS#: 62-53-3
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This fact sheet answers the most frequently asked health questions about aniline. For more information, you may call the ATSDR Information Center at 1-888-422-8737. This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. It is important you understand this information because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present.
Highlights
Aniline is a manufactured chemical used by a number of industries. Significant exposure may occur only if you work with aniline. The main effect of aniline by any route of exposure is a blood disorder in which oxygen delivery to the tissues is impaired. This may have mild to severe consequences depending on the duration and amount of exposure. Acute exposure to high amounts of aniline may lead to coma and death. Aniline has been found in at least 59 of the 1,585 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
What is aniline?
Aniline is a clear to slightly yellow
liquid with a characteristic odor. It does not readily evaporate
at room temperature. Aniline is slightly soluble in water
and mixes readily with most organic solvents.
Aniline is used to make a wide variety
of products such as polyurethane foam, agricultural chemicals,
synthetic dyes, antioxidants, stabilizers for the rubber industry,
herbicides, varnishes and explosives.
What happens to aniline when it enters the environment?
- Aniline in air will be broken down rapidly by other chemicals
and by sunlight. It will be broken down within a few days.
- Aniline in water can stick to sediment and particulate
matter or evaporate to the air. Most of it will be broken
down by bacteria and other microorganisms.
- Aniline will partially stick to the soil. Small amounts
may evaporate into air or pass through the soil to groundwater.
Most of the aniline in soil will be broken down by bacteria
and other microorganisms.
- Aniline does not accumulate in the food chain.
How might I be exposed to aniline?
- The general population may be exposed to aniline by eating
food or drinking water containing aniline, but these amounts
are usually very small.
- If you work in a place that makes products like dyes,
varnishes, herbicides, and explosives, you may be exposed
to aniline.
- Aniline has also been detected in tobacco smoke, so people
who smoke or breath in second-hand smoke may also be exposed
to aniline.
- People living near uncontrolled hazardous waste sites
may be exposed to higher than normal levels of aniline.
How can aniline affect my health?
Aniline can be toxic if ingested, inhaled,
or by skin contact. Aniline damages hemoglobin, a protein
that normally transports oxygen in the blood. The damaged
hemoglobin can not carry oxygen. This condition is known as
methemoglobinemia and its severity depends on how much you
are exposed to and for how long. Methemoglobinemia is the
most prominent symptom of aniline poisoning in humans, resulting
in cyanosis (a purplish blue skin color) following acute high
exposure to aniline. Dizziness, headaches, irregular heart
beat, convulsions, coma, and death may also occur. Direct
contact with aniline can also produce skin and eye irritation.
Long-term exposure to lower levels of
aniline may cause symptoms similar to those experienced in
acute high-level exposure. There is no reliable information
on whether aniline has adverse reproductive effects in humans.
Studies in animals have not demonstrated reproductive toxicity
for aniline.
How likely is aniline to cause cancer?
The available studies in humans are inadequate
to determine whether exposure to aniline can increase the
risk of developing cancer in people. Rats that ate food contaminated
with aniline for life developed cancer of the spleen.
The International Agency for Research
on Cancer (IARC) determined that aniline is not classifiable
as to its carcinogenicity to humans. The EPA has determined
that aniline is a probable human carcinogen.
How can aniline affect children?
There are no studies on the health effects
of children exposed to aniline. It is likely that the health
effects seen in children exposed to aniline will be similar
to the effects seen in adults. Newborn infants are more susceptible
than adults to development of methemoglobinemia caused by
exposure to aniline.
We do not know if exposure to aniline
will result in birth defects or other developmental effects
in people. The studies on developmental effects in animals
are not conclusive.
How can families reduce the risk of exposure to aniline?
Most families will not be exposed to
significant levels of aniline.
Children should avoid playing in soils
near uncontrolled hazardous waste sites where aniline may
have been discarded.
Is there a medical test to show whether Iāve been exposed to aniline?
Aniline can be measured in the urine.
This test shows that you have been exposed to aniline but
not to how much or how recently. A breakdown product of aniline
in the body, p-aminophenol, also can be measured in the urine;
however, this breakdown product is not specific for aniline
exposure.
Methemoglobin can be measured in the
blood, but exposure to many other chemicals also increase
methemoglobin levels in the blood. Methemoglobin levels in
blood can be used to determine the appropriate treatment that
exposed individuals should receive. These tests are not routinely
done in a doctor's office.
Has the federal government made recommendations to protect human health?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) sets a limit of 5 parts of aniline per million parts
of air (5 ppm) in workplace air in any 8-hour shift, 40-hour
workweek.
References
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 2002. Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents.
Volume III ā Medical Management Guidelines for Acute
Chemical Exposures: Aniline. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
Where can I get more information?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
For more information, contact:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Office of Innovation and Analytics, Toxicology Section
4770 Buford Highway
Chamblee, GA 30341-3717
Phone: 1-800-CDC-INFO 888-232-6348 (TTY)
Email: Contact CDC-INFO
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.