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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE 

CAS#: 79-00-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

This Public Health Statement is the summary 

chapter from the Toxicological Profile for 1,1,2­

Trichloroethane. 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. 

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1.1 WHAT IS 1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE? 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane is a colorless, sweet-smelling 

liquid that does not burn easily and boils at a higher 

temperature than water. It is made by two 

companies in the United States. It is used mostly 

where 1,1-dichloroethene (vinylidene chloride) is 

made. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane is used as a solvent. 

Because information about how much is made and 

how it is used is not available, we cannot say how 

much 1,1,2-trichloroethane is used, where it is used, 

or in what products it is found. 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane may also be formed in 

landfills when 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane is broken 

down. When it is released into the environment, 

most 1,1,2-trichloroethane finally ends up in the air, 

but some may enter groundwater. Breakdown in 

both the air and groundwater is slow. 

In the air, half the 1,1,2-trichloroethane is expected 

to breakdown in 49 days, and so it is likely to 

spread far from where it is released before breaking 

down. A few studies show that 1,1,2-trichloroethane 

below the soil surface or in groundwater does not 

breakdown within 16 weeks, and other studies 

suggest that it will last for years. Some studies show 

that breakdown of 1,1,2-trichloroethane occurs in 

landfills, but how fast this happens is not known. 

1.2 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO 1,1,2-

TRICHLOROETHANE? 

Low levels of 1,1,2-trichloroethane may be found in 

outdoor air. The main source of this 1,1,2­

trichloroethane is thought to be industries that use it 

as a solvent. Because the industries that produce 

1,1,2-trichloroethane or use it to make other 

chemicals often recycle or burn their waste, releases 

of 1,1,2-trichloroethane by these industries should 

not be major sources of pollution. 

From surveys of industrial wastewater, we learn that 

some of the industries that discharge 1,1,2­

trichloroethane are the timber products industry, 

plastics and synthetics industry, and laundries. 

Limited data show that 1,1,2-trichloroethane is 

present in a quarter to a half of city air samples. 

Where 1,1,2-trichloroethane is found, the samples 

tested usually contain 10 to 50 parts of 1,1,2­

trichloroethane per trillion parts of air (ppt). 

Though exposure to contaminated drinking water 

taken from groundwater sources is possible, such 

exposure appears to be rare. A nationwide survey 

did not find 1,1,2-trichloroethane in drinking water, 

but well water in some areas has been found to 

contain it. Surveys found 1,1,2-trichloroethane in 

well water in Wisconsin, New Jersey, Rhode Island, 

and Suffolk County, New York. The largest amount 

in these supplies was 31 parts of 1,1,2­

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 

1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE 

CAS#: 79-00-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

trichloroethane per one billion parts of water (ppb). 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane has not been reported in food 

or soil. Besides the air and drinking water sources, 

people may be exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane 

from spills and in the workplace, where it may be 

used as a solvent. Exposure would most likely be 

from breathing vapors of the chemical or from skin 

contact. 

When a chemical like 1,1,2-trichloroethane is 

utilized to make other chemicals, it is usually used 

in tightly closed automatic systems, so that workers 

are not usually exposed to high levels of it. A 

national survey conducted in 1981-1983 estimated 

that 1,036 workers were exposed to 1,1,2­

trichloroethane. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane has been 

found thus far at 45 of 1,177 hazardous waste sites 

on the National Priorities List (NPL) in the United 

States. Landfill gases from these sites may contain 

1,1,2-trichloroethane. 

1.3 HOW CAN 1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE 

ENTER AND LEAVE MY BODY? 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane can enter the body when a 

person breathes air containing 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 

or when a person drinks water containing this 

compound. It can also enter the body through the 

skin. After it enters the body, it is carried by the 

blood to organs and tissues such as the liver, 

kidney, brain, heart, spleen, and fat. 

Experiments in which animals were given 1,1,2­

trichloroethane by mouth have shown that most 

1,1,2-trichloroethane leaves the body unchanged in 

the breath and as other substances that it was 

changed into in the urine in about 1 day. Very little 

stays in the body more than 2 days. 

1.4 HOW CAN 1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE 

AFFECT MY HEALTH? 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane can cause temporary stinging 

and burning pain on the skin when humans touch it. 

There is no other information on the health effects 

of 1,1,2-trichloroethane in humans. 

Most of what we know about the health effects of 

this chemical comes from experiments in animals. 

As is true with most chemicals, a large amount of 

1,1,2-trichloroethane produces more damage than a 

small amount. Short-term exposure to high levels of 

1,1,2-trichloroethane in air or high doses given by 

mouth or applied to the skin has caused death in 

animals. 

Long-term exposure of animals to high doses given 

by mouth has also shortened the lifespan. These 

levels and doses are much higher than would be 

found in the air, water, or food to which humans 

might be exposed. Breathing high levels in air can 

affect the nervous system and cause sleepiness. 

1,1,2-Trichloroethane may also affect the liver, 

kidney, and digestive tract, produce skin irritation, 

and affect the body's ability to fight infections. 

Mice, but not rats, that were given high doses of 

1,1,2-trichloroethane by mouth for most of their life 

developed liver cancer, but we do not know whether 

humans exposed to this chemical would develop 

cancer. From the limited information available in 

animals, it appears that 1,1,2-trichloroethane does 

not cause birth defects or otherwise inhibit normal 

development. 

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 

1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE 

CAS#: 79-00-5 

Division of Toxicology December 1989 

1.5 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO 

DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN 

EXPOSED TO 1,1,2-TRICHLOROETHANE? 

Although chemists have ways of measuring some 

chemicals in body fluids, there is no commonly 

used medical test to find out whether a person has 

been exposed to 1,1,2-trichloroethane. 

1.6 WHAT LEVELS OF EXPOSURE HAVE 

RESULTED IN HARMFUL HEALTH 

EFFECTS? 

It is not known what levels of 1,1,2-trichloroethane 

cause harmful health effects in people. In animals, 

liver effects, central nervous system depression, and 

death occurred at levels greater than 416 parts per 

million (ppm) 1,1,2-trichloroethane in air. At levels 

of 200 ppm in water, effects on the immune system 

and liver were seen. 

1.7 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO 

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH? 

The EPA has set a limit of 0.005 milligrams of 

1,1,2-trichloroethane per liter of drinking water 

(0.005 mg/L). Discharges, spills, or accidental 

releases of 100 pounds or more of 1,1,2­

trichloroethane must be reported to the EPA. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration 

(OSHA) has set a permissible exposure limit of 45 

milligrams 1,1,2-trichloroethane per cubic meter of 

air (45 mg/m3) for an 8-hour workday in a 40-hour 

workweek. 

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 

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 1,1,2­

trichloroethane. 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