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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

CAS#: 78-87-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for 1,2-

dichloropropane. 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 1-888-422-

8737. 

1.1 WHAT IS 1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE? 

1,2-Dichloropropane is a colorless liquid belonging 

to a class of chemicals called volatile organic 

compounds (VOCs). It has a chloroform-like odor 

and evaporates quickly at room temperature. It is a 

man-made chemical and people are probably 

responsible for all releases of 1,2-dichloropropane 

into the environment. 1,2-Dichloropropane is now 

used in the United States only in research and 

industry. 

Before the early 1980s, 1,2-dichloropropane was 

used in farming as a soil fumigant and was found in 

some paint strippers, varnishes, and furniture finish 

removers. Most of the 1,2-dichloropropane released 

into the environment finally ends up in the air or 

groundwater. 

When applied to soil in one experiment, all but 1% 

dispersed in 10 days. Breakdown in both the air and 

groundwater is slow. The rate at which a chemical 

breaks down is usually explained by how long it 

takes for half the chemical to disappear (half-life). 

The half-life of 1,2-dichloropropane in air is not 

known exactly, but it is longer than 23 days, which 

means that 1,2-dichloropropane can spread to areas 

far from where it is released. In groundwater, the 

half-life of 1,2-dichloropropane is estimated to be 

between 6 months and 2 years. 

1.2 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO 1,2-

DICHLOROPROPANE? 

Air levels of 1,2-dichloropropane are usually quite 

low. In city areas of the United States, the average 

amount in air is about 22 parts per trillion (ppt). 1,2-

Dichloropropane is found in a few drinking water 

supplies, and most of those are from groundwater 

sources. A nationwide survey of groundwater 

supplies showed that 1.4% of these supplies 

contained 1,2-dichloropropane levels at around 1 

part per billion (ppb). The highest amount of 1,2-

dichloropropane in the survey was 21 ppb. Private 

wells in farming areas where 1,2-dichloropropane 

was once used as a soil fumigant have the greatest 

risk for contamination. 

Occupational exposure to 1,2-dichloropropane may 

result during its production, its use in chemical 

reactions and as an industrial solvent, and 

evaporation from wastewater that contains the 

chemical. Workers involved in cleaning up 

hazardous waste or spill sites that contain 1,2-

dichloropropane may also be exposed. A national 

survey conducted by the National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in 1981-

1983 estimated that 2119 workers outside of the 

farming sector were exposed to 1,2-

dichloropropane. 

Use of this chemical has recently decreased very 

much, however, so that the number of exposed 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

CAS#: 78-87-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

workers may now be much lower. According to 

industry spokesmen, levels of exposure among 

exposed workers range from less than 1 part per 

million (ppm) to less than 25 ppm, depending on the 

industry. 1,2-Dichloropropane was found in 26 of 

the 1177 hazardous waste sites on the National 

Priority List (NPL) and gases from these sites may 

contain low levels of 1,2-dichloropropane. 

1.3 HOW CAN 1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

ENTER AND LEAVE MY BODY? 

1,2-Dichloropropane can enter the body if a person 

breathes air or drinks water contaminated with it, or 

if a person's skin comes in contact with it. If 1,2-

dichloropropane is present at a waste site near 

homes that use wells as a source of water, the well 

water could be contaminated. A route of major 

exposure in the past was by accidentally or 

intentionally drinking cleaning products that 

contained 1,2-dichloropropane, but these cleaning 

materials are no longer produced in the United 

States. 

Experiments with animals have shown that when 

1,2-dichloropropane enters the body through eating 

or drinking, it is quickly removed in the urine and 

feces and by the lungs when the animal breathes 

out. 1,2-Dichloropropane may enter the lungs of 

workers exposed where it is used indoors as a 

solvent. 

If 1,2-dichloropropane is released at a waste site 

and evaporates into the air, a person may breathe in 

1,2-dichloropropane for a short time before it 

disperses. When the chemical was a part of some 

paint strippers, varnishes, and furniture finish 

removers, exposure of the skin through contact with 

these products occurred; however, the amount of 

1,2-dichloropropane that entered through the skin is 

unknown. Soil around a waste site may be 

contaminated with 1,2-dichloropropane, but it is not 

known how much 1,2-dichloropropane enters the 

body through the skin upon contact with 

contaminated soil. 

1.4 HOW CAN 1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

AFFECT MY HEALTH? 

Drinking 1,2-dichloropropane by humans (i.e., 

drinking cleaning solutions) has produced 

poisoning. At these high levels of exposure, effects 

include dizziness, headache, nausea, injury to the 

liver and kidneys, anemia, coma and, ultimately, 

death. Breathing high levels of 1,2-dichloropropane 

by humans, as in deliberate breathing of vapors 

from cleaning solutions, produces similar effects. 

No reports have been made of any health effects in 

humans following low-level exposure to 1,2-

dichloropropane for either short or long time 

periods. 

In animal experiments, low amounts of 1,2-

dichloropropane breathed in over short- and longterm periods result in damage to the liver, kidney, 

and respiratory systems, while high amounts 

resulted in death. Short-term exposure to high levels 

of vapors also causes irritation to the eyes and 

throat. When 1,2-dichloropropane is given by 

mouth to animals over shorter long-term periods, 

damage to the liver and kidneys is seen at low 

doses, and death occurs at high doses. 

1,2-Dichloropropane breathed or eaten for a short 

time has not been reported to produce cancer in 

humans, but long-term exposure by mouth in 

animals has produced evidence of liver cancer in 

mice and breast cancer in female rats. The 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

CAS#: 78-87-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

significance of the animal cancer studies to humans 

is not well understood. Irritation of the skin after 

contact with 1,2-dichloropropane has been seen in 

both humans and rabbits. 

1,2-Dichloropropane has not been shown to cause 

birth defects in humans or animals, but a delay in 

the growth of bones has been seen in fetal rats 

following exposure of the mother rats. 

1.5 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO 1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE? 

Tests are available to detect 1,2-dichloropropane in 

the urine and the blood. The available methods can 

predict the concentration of 1,2-dichloropropane in 

the air from levels in the urine, but not from levels 

in the blood. The levels of 1,2-dichloropropane in 

the urine, however, cannot predict specific health 

effects. The method for testing the urine is simple, 

but because special equipment is needed, the test is 

not yet routinely available. Because 1,2-

dichloropropane leaves the body quickly, it is best 

to test for it soon after exposure. 

1.6 WHAT LEVELS OF EXPOSURE HAVE 

RESULTED IN HARMFUL HEALTH 

EFFECTS? 

Information is not available on the levels of 1,2-

dichloropropane that have resulted in harmful 

effects in people. In animals, high levels (greater 

than 400 ppm) in air have resulted in death and 

lower levels in air have resulted in anemia and 

respiratory damage. Animals that ate 1,2-

dichloropropane for short-term exposures at levels 

ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 ppm showed effects 

on the central nervous system, weight loss, anemia, 

and liver and testicular damage. These same effects 

were noted in animals from long-term exposure to 

960 to 5,000 ppm 1,2-dichloropropane in food. 

1.7 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The EPA has set a Maximum Contaminant Level 

(MCL) of 0.005 parts per million (0.005 ppm) for 

1,2-dichloropropane in drinking water. The EPA 

recommends that the level of 1,2-dichloropropane 

in lakes and streams should be limited to 0.52 parts 

per billion (0.52 ppb) to prevent possible human 

health effects from drinking contaminated water or 

eating contaminated fish. Any release to the 

environment greater than 1,000 pounds of 1,2-

dichloropropane must be reported to the EPA. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) set a workplace air concentration limit of 

75 ppm for an 8-hour workday, 40-hour workweek. 

The federal recommendations have been updated as 

of July 1999. 

1.8 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: 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Division of Toxicology 

1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

1,2-DICHLOROPROPANE 

CAS#: 78-87-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

Information line and technical assistance: 

Phone: 888-422-8737 

FAX: (770)-488-4178 

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. 

To order toxicological profiles, contact: 

National Technical Information Service 

5285 Port Royal Road 

Springfield, VA 22161 

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

Reference 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

(ATSDR). 1989. Toxicological profile for 1,2-

dichloropropane. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov