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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for Xylene. 

It is one in a series of Public Health Statements 

about hazardous substances and their health effects. 

A shorter version, the ToxFAQsTM, is also 

available. This information is important 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. For more information, call the ATSDR 

Information Center at 1-800-232-4636. 

This public health statement tells you about xylene 

and the effects of exposure to it. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in 

the nation. These sites are then placed on the 

National Priorities List (NPL) and are targeted for 

long-term federal clean-up activities. Xylene has 

been found in at least 840 of the 1,684 current or 

former NPL sites. Although the total number of 

NPL sites evaluated for this substance is not known, 

the possibility exists that the number of sites at 

which xylene is found may increase in the future as 

more sites are evaluated. This information is 

important because these sites may be sources of 

exposure and exposure to this substance may harm 

you. 

When a substance is released either from a large 

area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, 

such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. 

Such a release does not always lead to exposure. 

You can be exposed to a substance only when you 

come in contact with it. You may be exposed by 

breathing, eating, or drinking the substance, or by 

skin contact. 

If you are exposed to xylene, many factors will 

determine whether you will be harmed. These 

factors include the dose (how much), the duration 

(how long), and how you come in contact with it. 

You must also consider any other chemicals you are 

exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, 

lifestyle, and state of health. 

1.1 WHAT IS XYLENE? 

In this report, the terms xylene, xylenes, and total 

xylenes will be used interchangeably. There are 

three forms of xylene in which the methyl groups 

vary on the benzene ring: meta-xylene, orthoxylene, and para-xylene (m-, o-, and p-xylene). 

These different forms are referred to as isomers. 

Drawings of the three different isomers are shown 

in Chapter 4. The term total xylenes refers to all 

three isomers of xylene (m-, o-, and p-xylene). 

Mixed xylene is a mixture of the three isomers and 

usually also contains 6–15% ethylbenzene. Xylene 

is also known as xylol or dimethylbenzene. Xylene 

is primarily a synthetic chemical. Chemical 

industries produce xylene from petroleum. Xylene 

also occurs naturally in petroleum and coal tar and 

is formed during forest fires, to a small extent. It is 

a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. 

Xylene is one of the top 30 chemicals produced in 

the United States in terms of volume. It is primarily 

used as a solvent (a liquid that can dissolve other 

substances) in the printing, rubber, and leather 

industries. Along with other solvents, xylene is also 

widely used as a cleaning agent, a thinner for paint, 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

and in varnishes. Xylene is used, to a lesser extent, 

as a material in the chemical, plastics, and synthetic 

fiber industries and as an ingredient in the coating 

of fabrics and papers. Isomers of xylene are used in 

the manufacture of certain polymers (chemical 

compounds), such as plastics. Xylene is found in 

small amounts in airplane fuel and gasoline. 

Xylene evaporates and burns easily. Xylene does 

not mix well with water; however, it does mix with 

alcohol and many other chemicals. Most people 

begin to smell xylene in air at 0.08–3.7 parts of 

xylene per million parts of air (ppm) and in water at 

0.53–1.1 ppm. 

1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO XYLENE WHEN IT 

ENTERS THE ENVIRONMENT? 

Xylene is a liquid, and it can leak into soil, surface 

water (creeks, streams, rivers), or groundwater. 

Xylene can enter the environment when it is made, 

packaged, shipped, or used. Most xylene that is 

accidentally released evaporates into the air, 

although some is released into rivers or lakes. 

Xylene can also enter soil, water, or air in large 

amounts after an accidental spill or as a result of an 

environmental leak during storage or burial at a 

waste site. 

Since xylene evaporates easily, most xylene that 

gets into soil and water (if not trapped underground) 

is expected to go into the air where it is broken 

down by sunlight into other less harmful chemicals 

within a couple of days. For this reason, xylene is 

rarely found in high concentrations in topsoil or 

surface water (river, creeks) unless there has been a 

recent spill or continuing source of contamination. 

Any xylene that does not evaporate quickly from 

soil or water is broken down by small organisms. 

Only very small amounts are taken up by plants, 

fish, and birds. 

Xylene below the soil surface may travel down 

through the soil and enter underground water 

(groundwater). Xylene may remain in groundwater 

for several months before it is finally broken down 

by small organisms. If a large amount of xylene 

enters soil from an accidental spill, a hazardous 

waste site, or a landfill, it may travel through the 

soil and contaminate drinking water wells. 

1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO 

XYLENE? 

Xylene is primarily released from industrial 

sources, in automobile exhaust, and during its use as 

a solvent. Hazardous waste disposal sites and spills 

of xylene into the environment are also possible 

sources of exposure. You are most likely to be 

exposed to xylene by breathing it in contaminated 

air. Typical levels of xylene measured in outdoor 

air in the United States range from 1 to 30 parts of 

xylene per billion parts of air (a part per billion 

[ppb] is one thousandth of a part per million [ppm]; 

one ppm equals 1,000 ppb). Typical levels of 

xylene measured in indoor air range from 1 to 

10 ppb. 

Xylene is sometimes released into water and soil as 

a result of the use, storage, and transport of 

petroleum products. Little information exists about 

the amount of xylene in surface water and soil. 

However, levels of xylene in contaminated 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

groundwater have been reported to be as high as 

10,000 ppb. 

You may be exposed to xylene by drinking or 

eating xylene-contaminated water or food. Xylene 

is not commonly found in drinking water. When it 

is, the levels of xylene are typically below 2 ppb. 

Xylene has been found in many types of foods at 

levels ranging from 1 to 100 ppb. 

You may also come in contact with xylene from a 

variety of consumer products, including gasoline, 

paint, varnish, shellac, rust preventives, and 

cigarette smoke. Breathing vapors from these types 

of products can expose you to xylene. In some 

cases, indoor levels of xylene can be higher than 

outdoor levels, especially in buildings with poor 

ventilation. Skin contact with products containing 

xylene, such as solvents, lacquers, paint thinners 

and removers, and pesticides may also expose you 

to xylene. 

Besides painters and paint industry workers, others 

who may be exposed to xylene include biomedical 

laboratory workers, distillers of xylene, wood 

processing plant workers, automobile garage 

workers, metal workers, and furniture refinishers. 

Workers who routinely come in contact with 

xylene-containing solvents in the workplace are the 

population most likely to be exposed to high levels 

of xylene. 

1.4 HOW CAN XYLENE ENTER AND 

LEAVE MY BODY? 

Xylene is most likely to enter your body when you 

breathe xylene vapors. Xylene may also enter your 

body if eat or drink xylene-contaminated food or 

water. Less often, xylene enters the body through 

the skin following direct contact. Xylene is rapidly 

absorbed by your lungs after you breathe air 

containing it. The amount of xylene retained ranges 

from 50 to 75% of the amount of xylene that you 

inhale. Physical exercise increases the amount of 

xylene absorbed by the lungs. Absorption of xylene 

in the gut after eating food or drinking water 

containing it is both rapid and complete. 

Absorption of liquid xylene through the skin also 

occurs rapidly following direct contact with xylene, 

but absorption of xylene vapor through the skin is 

only about 12% of the amount absorbed by the 

lungs. At hazardous waste sites, the most likely 

ways you can be exposed are: breathing xylene 

vapors, drinking well water contaminated with 

xylene, and direct contact of the skin with xylene. 

Xylene passes into the blood soon after entering the 

body. 

In people and laboratory animals, xylene is 

chemically changed, primarily in the liver, into a 

different form that is more water soluble and is 

rapidly removed from the body in urine. Some 

unchanged xylene also leaves in the breath from the 

lungs within a few seconds after xylene is absorbed. 

Small amounts of breakdown products of xylene 

have appeared in the urine of people as soon as 

2 hours after breathing air containing xylene. 

Usually, most of the xylene that is taken in leaves 

the body within 18 hours after exposure ends. 

About 4–10% of absorbed xylene may be stored in 

fat, which may prolong the time needed for xylene 

to leave the body. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

1.5 HOW CAN XYLENE AFFECT MY 

HEALTH? 

Scientists use many tests to protect the public from 

harmful effects of toxic chemicals and to find ways 

for treating persons who have been harmed. 

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 health effects such 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. 

Scientists have found that the three forms of xylene 

have very similar effects on health. No health 

effects have been noted at the background levels 

that people are exposed to on a daily basis. Shortterm exposure of people to high levels of xylene can 

cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, and throat; 

difficulty in breathing; impaired function of the 

lungs; delayed response to a visual stimulus; 

impaired memory; stomach discomfort; and 

possible changes in the liver and kidneys. Both 

short- and long-term exposure to high 

concentrations of xylene can also cause a number of 

effects on the nervous system, such as headaches, 

lack of muscle coordination, dizziness, confusion, 

and changes in one's sense of balance. Some people 

exposed to very high levels of xylene for a short 

period of time have died. Most of the information 

on health effects in humans exposed for long 

periods of time is from studies of workers employed 

in industries that make or use xylene. Those 

workers were exposed to levels of xylene in air far 

greater than the levels normally encountered by the 

general population. Many of the effects seen after 

their exposure to xylene could have been caused by 

exposure to other chemicals that were in the air with 

xylene. 

Results of studies in animals indicate that large 

amounts of xylene can cause changes in the liver 

and harmful effects on the kidneys, lungs, heart, and 

nervous system. Short-term exposure to very high 

concentrations of xylene causes death in animals, as 

well as muscular spasms, incoordination, hearing 

loss, changes in behavior, changes in organ weights, 

and changes in enzyme activity. Animals that were 

exposed to xylene on their skin had irritation and 

inflammation of the skin. Long-term exposure of 

animals to low concentrations of xylene has not 

been well studied, but there is some information 

that long-term exposure of animals can cause 

harmful effects on the kidney (with oral exposure) 

or on the nervous system (with inhalation 

exposure). 

Information from animal studies is not adequate to 

determine whether or not xylene causes cancer in 

humans. Both the International Agency for 

Research on Cancer (IARC) and EPA have found 

that there is insufficient information to determine 

whether or not xylene is carcinogenic and consider 

xylene not classifiable as to its human 

carcinogenicity. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

1.6 HOW CAN XYLENE AFFECT 

CHILDREN? 

This section discusses potential health effects in 

humans from exposures during the period from 

conception to maturity at 18 years of age. 

The effects of xylenes have not been studied in 

children, but it is likely that they would be similar 

to those seen in exposed adults. Although there is 

no direct evidence, children may be more sensitive 

to acute inhalation exposure than adults because 

their narrower airways would be more vulnerable if 

the surrounding tissue became swollen. (One study 

suggested that the narrower airway in women 

compared to men could be the reason women had 

more breathing difficulty than men after breathing 

xylene.) 

Although there are no conclusive studies in humans, 

it is possible that exposure of pregnant women to 

high levels of xylene may cause harmful effects to 

the fetus. Animal studies showed that xylene 

absorbed by the mother can cross the placenta and 

reach the fetus. The unborn animals may have 

reduced body weight and delayed bone 

mineralization if the level of xylene is high enough 

to be toxic to the mother. Some animal studies have 

shown that newborn babies that were exposed to 

xylene during pregnancy have problems after birth 

with motor coordination and the ability to orient 

themselves in their surroundings. In general, these 

developmental effects occur at exposure levels 

much higher than those typically seen in the 

background environment, levels high enough to also 

harm the mother. 

1.7 HOW CAN FAMILIES REDUCE THE 

RISK OF EXPOSURE TO XYLENE? 

If your doctor finds that you have been exposed to 

substantial amounts of xylene, ask whether your 

children might also have been exposed. Your 

doctor might need to ask your state health 

department to investigate. 

Exposure to xylene as solvents (in paints or 

gasoline) can be reduced if the products are used 

with adequate ventilation and if they are stored out 

of the reach of small children. 

Sometimes older children sniff household chemicals 

in attempt to get high. Talk with your children 

about the dangers of sniffing xylene. 

If products containing xylene are spilled on the 

skin, then the excess should be wiped off and the 

area cleaned with soap and water. 

1.8 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO XYLENE? 

Medical tests are available to determine if you have 

been exposed to xylene at higher-than-normal 

levels. After xylene has been absorbed, some of its 

breakdown products can be measured in the urine. 

However, a urine sample must be provided very 

soon (within hours) after exposure ends because 

xylene quickly leaves the body. These tests may be 

available in certain doctors’ offices. Available tests 

can only indicate exposure to xylene; they cannot be 

used to predict which health effects, if any, will 

develop. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

1.9 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The federal government develops regulations and 

recommendations to protect public health. 

Regulations can be enforced by law. The EPA, the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA), and the Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA) are some federal agencies that develop 

regulations for toxic substances. Recommendations 

provide valuable guidelines to protect public health, 

but cannot be enforced by law. The Agency for 

Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) 

and the National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health (NIOSH) are two federal organizations 

that develop recommendations for toxic substances. 

Regulations and recommendations can be expressed 

as “not-to-exceed” levels, that is, levels of a toxic 

substance in air, water, soil, or food that do not 

exceed a critical value that is usually based on 

levels that affect animals; they are then adjusted to 

levels that will help protect humans. Sometimes 

these not-to-exceed levels differ among federal 

organizations because they used different exposure 

times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour day), 

different animal studies, or other factors. 

Recommendations and regulations are also updated 

periodically as more information becomes available. 

For the most current information, check with the 

federal agency or organization that provides it. 

Some regulations and recommendations for xylene 

include the following: 

To protect people from the potential harmful health 

effects of xylene, EPA regulates xylene in the 

environment. 

The EPA estimates that, for an adult of average 

weight who drinks 2 L of water each day for a 

lifetime (70 years), exposure to 7 ppm xylene in 

drinking water is unlikely to result in harmful 

noncancerous health effects. 

Exposure to 40 ppm xylene in water for 1 or 

10 days is unlikely to present a health risk to a small 

child. 

The EPA has set a legally enforceable maximum 

level of 10 ppm of xylene in water that is delivered 

to any user of a public water system. 

OSHA regulates levels of xylene in the workplace. 

The maximum allowable amount of xylene in 

workroom air during an 8-hour workday in a 40-

hour workweek is 100 ppm. 

1.10 WHERE CAN I GET MORE 

INFORMATION? 

If you have any more questions or concerns, please 

contact your community or state health or 

environmental quality department, or contact 

ATSDR at the address and phone number below. 

ATSDR can also tell you the location of 

occupational and environmental health clinics. 

These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, 

and treating illnesses that result from exposure to 

hazardous substances. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

Xylene 

CAS#: 1330-20-7 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine August 2007 

Toxicological profiles are also available on-line at 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov and on CD-ROM. You may 

request a copy of the ATSDR ToxProfilesTM 

CD-ROM by calling the toll-free information 

and technical assistance number at 1-800-

CDCINFO (1-800-232-4636), by e-mail at 

cdcinfo@cdc.gov, or by writing to: 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Division of Toxicology and Environmental 

Medicine 

1600 Clifton Road NE 

Mailstop F-32 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

Fax: 1-770-488-4178 

Organizations for-profit may request copies of final 

Toxicological Profiles from the following: 

National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

Phone: 1-800-553-6847 or 1-703-605-6000 

Web site: http://www.ntis.gov/ 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-800-232-4636 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov