WHAT EPA PROGRAM OFFICES REGULATE CYCLOHEXANE, AND UNDER WHAT LAWS IS IT REGULATED?

EPA OFFicE Law PHONE NUMBER
Pollution Prevention & Toxics Toxic Substances Control Act (202) 554-1404
Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA): Regulations (§ 313) (800) 535-0202

Toxics Release Inverstory data (202) 260-1531

Air Clean Air Act (919) 541-0888
Solid Waste & Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) (800) 535-0202

Emergency Response Resource Conservation and Recovery Act / EPCRA (§ 304/311/312)

Water Clean Water Act (202) 260-7588

A technical support document is available from the TSCA Assistance Information Service, (202) 554-1404,

WHAT OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES OR GROUPS CAN I CONTACT FOR INFORMATION ON CYCLOHEXANE?

AGENCY/GROUP PHONE NUMBER
American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (513) 742-2020
Consumer Product Safety Commission 301) 504-0994
Food and Drug Administration (301) 443-3170
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (EnviroHealth Clearinghouse) (800) 643-4794
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (800) 356-4674

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Check your local phone book under U.S. Department of Labor)


of the environment when exposure
occurs.

Breathing large amounts of
cyclohexane for short periods of time
adversely affects the human nervous
system. Effects range from headaches
to anesthesia, tremors, and convul-
sions. Contact with cyclohexane
liquid or vapor can damage the cycs
These effects aye not likely to occur at
levels of cyclohexane that are nor-
mally found in the environment.

Human health effects asso-
ciated with breathing or otherwise
consuming smaller amounts of cy-
clohexane over long periods of time
are not known. Information about
cyclohexane’s potential to cause
cancer, developmental effects, or re-
productive effects cither does not exist
or is not adequate. Studies show that
repeat exposure to large amounts of
cyclohexane in air causes nervous
system effects, eye damage, and
respiratory effects in animals. The
cyclohexane industry is now studying
how its chemical affects the repro-
ductive system and the development
of the fetus of animals.

Cyclohexane by itself is not
likely to cause environmental harm at
levels normally found in the envi-
ronment. Cyclohexane can contribute
to the formation of photochemical
smog when it reacts with other vola-
tile organic carbon substances in air.


United States EPA 749.-F 94.011
Environmental Protection December 1994
Agency

(Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxcs (7401)

SEPA Chemicals in the
Environment

CYCLOHEXANE

(CAS NO. 110-82-7)



Chemicals can be released to the envi-
ronment as a result of their manufacture,
processing, and use. The EPA has de-
veloped information summaries on se-
lected chemicals to describe how you
might be exposed to these chemicals, how
exposure to them might affect you and the
environment, what happens to them in the
environment, who regulates them, and
whom to contact for additional informa-
tion. EPA is committed to reducing en-
vironmental releases of chemicals
through source reduction and other prac-
tices that reduce creation of pollutants.

WHAT IS CYCLOHEXANE, HOW
IS IT USED, AND HOW MIGHT I
BE EXPOSED?

Cyclohexane is a colorless,
flammable liquid. It occurs naturally in
petroleum crude oil, in volcanic gases,
and in cigarette smoke. It is produced in
large amounts (an estimated 338 million
gallons in 1992) by four companies in the
United States. US demand for cyclo-
hexane is likely to increase at a rate of 2%
to 2.5% per year. The largest users of
cyclohexane are chemical companies that
make adipic acid and caprolactam,
chemicals used to make nylon. Chemical,
companies also use cyclohexane to make
benzene, cyclohexanone, and nitrocy-
clohexane. Cyclohexane can be added to
lacquers and resins, paint and varnish
removers, and fungicides. It is also used
as a fuel for camp stoves.

Exposure to cyclohexane can


occur in the workplace or in the environment
following releases to air, water, land, or
groundwater. Exposure can also occur when
people use products that contain cyclohexane
or when they smoke cigarettes. Cyclohexane
enters the body when breathed in with con-
taminated air or when consumed with con-
taminated food or water. It can also be
absorbed through skin contact. Cyclohexane
is not likely to remain in the body due to its
breakdown and removal in exhaled air and in
urine.

WHAT HAPPENS TO CYCLOHEXANE
IN THE ENVIRONMENT?

Cyclohexane evaporates when ex-
posed to air. It dissolves when mixed with
water. Most direct releases of cyclohexane to
the environment are to air. Cyclohexane also
evaporates from water and soil exposed to air.
Once in air, cyclohexane breaks down to other
chemicals. Because it is a liquid that does not
bind well to soil, cyclohexane that makes its
way into the ground can move through the
ground and enter groundwater. Plants and
animals living in environments contaminated
with cyclohexane can store small amounts of
the chemical.

HOW DOES CYCLOHEXANE AFFECT
HUMAN HEALTH AND THE
ENVIRONMENT?

Effects of cyclohexane on human
health and the environment depend on how
much cyclohexane is present and the length
and frequency of exposure. Effects also de-
pend on the health of a person or the condition