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TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR

2-BUTANONE

Prepared by: Syracuse Research Corporation Under Subcontract to : Clement International Corporation Under Contract No . 205-88-0608

Prepared for: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry V1 V U .S . Public Health Service <

July 1992 Pf~,Iang To: 01 Sl W 71, 3) t~k)-otor DC 20460p. 3

56 3 . CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL INFORMATION

TABLE 3-1 . Chemical Identity of 2-Butanone

Characteristic Information Reference
Chemical name 2-Butanone CAS 1989 Synonyms Methyl ethyl ketone ; CAS 1989 ; MEK; SANSS 1989 ; ethyl methyl ketone ; Chemline 1989 methyl acetone ; and others Trade name(s) Meetco OHM/TADS 1989 Chemical formula C4H80 CAS 1989 Chemical structure 0 CH3- C - CH2- CH j

Identification numbers : CAS registry 78-93-3 CAS 1989 NIOSH RTECS EL6475000 HSDB 1989 EPA hazardous waste U159 HSDB 1989 OHM/TADS 7216796 Chemline 1989 DOT/UN/NA/IMCO UN1193, UN1232 Chemline 1989 HSDB 99 HSDB 1989 NCI No dat a
CAS - Chemical Abstracts Service EPA = Environmental Protection Agency DOT/UN/NA/IMCOP = Department of Transportation/United Nations/North America/ International Maritime Consultive Organization HSDB Hazardous Substance Data Bank NCI National Cancer Institute NIOSH - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health OHM/TADS - Oil and Hazardous Materials Technical Assistance Data Base RTECS Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substance s SANSS Structure and Nomenclature Search Systemp.4 1A 57 3 . CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL INFORMATION

TABLE 3-2 . Physical and Chemical Properties of 2-Butanone
Property Information Reference Molecular weight 72 .11 Weast et al . 1988 Color Colorless Sax and Lewis 1987 Physical state Liquid Sax and Lewis 1987 Melting point -86 .30C Weast et al . 1988 Boiling point 79 .60C Weast et al . 1988 Density (liquid) at 20*C 0 .8054 Weast et al . 1988 Odor Acetone-like Sax and Lewis 1987 Odor threshol d Water 8 .4 ppm Amoore and Hautala 1983 Air 5 .4 ppm Amoore and Hautala 1983 Solubility Water at 25*C 136,000 mg/L Tewari et al . 1982 Organic solvents Benzene, alcohol Sax and Lewis 1987 ; ether, oils, mos Neier and Strehlke organic solvents 1985 Partition coefficient Log octanol/water 0 .29 Hansch and Leo 1985 Log Koc 0 .55 Roy and Griffin 1985 Vapor pressure at 25*C 90 .6 mmHg V1 Riddick et al . 1986 Henry's law constant 5 .77xlO-5 atm m,/mol Rathburn and Tai 1987 at 250 C Autoignition temperature 515-C Sax and Louis 1987 Flashpoint IT

-C Closed cup -2 Riddick et al . 1986 Open cup 1 *,C' Riddick et al . 1986 Flammability limits in air 2-10% Sax and Lewis 1987 Conversion factor s p m (v/v) to mg/m' in 1 ppm 2 .93 mg/m3,// pair (20*C) 3 3 mg/m to ppm (v/v) in 1 mg/m - 0 .341 ppm :112~ air (20*C) N Bioconcentration factor 0 .98 (calculated Lyman et al . 1982 from KOW) Explosive limits No datap. 5

73 5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE

1968) . A pure culture study indicated that propionate is produced as a result of the microbial oxidation of 2-butanone (Phillips and Perry 1974) . 2-Butanone has been listed as a compound amenable to degradation by anaerobic biotechnology (Speece 1983) . At an initial concentration of 500 ppm, 2-butanone was completely reduced to methane within 8 days in a fermentor using a domestic sludge inoculum that had been adapted to acetate (Chou et al . 1979) . An experimentally determined rate constant of 5 .4xlO8 L/mol-sec has been determined for the reaction of 2-butanone with hydroxyl radicals in water (Anbar and Neta 1967) . This value corresponds to a half-life of 4 years for this reaction, given a hydroxy radical concentratibn of lXlo-17 M (Mill et al . 1980) . Hydrolysis of ketones is generally not believed to be an environmentally important process (Lyman et al . 1982 ; Mill 1982) . A rate constant of 0 L/mol-year was listed for the hydrolysis of 2-butanone under neutral, acidic, and basic conditions at 25*C (Kollig et al . 1987), indicating that this process does not occur in the environment . By analogy to the gasphase photolysis of 2-butanone (Cox et al . 1980), direct photochemical breakdown of. 2-butanone in water is no-texpected . Therefore, the chemical degraiation of 2-butanone in environmental waters is not expected to occur to any significant extent . The chemical alteration of 2-butanone in rain water has been postulated . In acid rain, hydroxy sulfonates may be formed by the reaction with bisulfite, and ammonia adducts may be formed in ammoniated rain (Grosjean and Wrigh t 1983) . The concentration of these reactive species is likely to be much higher in rain water than in surface water ; therefore, a more rapid rate of reaction would be expected in rain . 5 .3 .2 .3 Soil No specific data concerning the fate of 2-butanone in soil were available . By analogy to the experimental results on the microbial degradation of 2-butanone in water, this compound may degrade in soil under aerobic and anaerobic conditions given suitable time for adaptation of the microbial population . Again by using an analogy to the fate of 2-butanone in aqueous systems, it is not expected to hydrolyze, photolyze on the surface, or undergo chemical degradation. 5 .4 LEVELS MONITORED OR ESTIMATED IN THE ENVIRONMENT 5 .4 .1 Air 2-Butanone has been detected in a limited number of sites in rural, urban, and indoor locations . It was detected in 17 samples taken in Tucson, Arizona, in 1982 at an average concentration of 2 .8 ppb. In the mountains of Arizona, the concentration was 0 .50 ppb (Snider and Dawson 1985) . The rangep. 6

75 5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE

2-Butanone was listed as being detected in less than 5% of U .S . groundwater supplies (Dyksen and Hess 1982) . At U .S . hazardous waste sites, 2-Butanone was listed as being frequently detected in the groundwater (Garman et al . 1987) . This statement should be interpreted with caution, a s "frequently" was defined as greater than 0 .1%, of the samples . 2-Butanone was detected in 180 groundwater samples from 357 hazardous waste sites monitored by the CLP at a geometric mean concentration of 302 ppb in the positive samples (CLPSD 1988) . Examples of the presence of 2-butanone at hazardous waste sites and landfills can be found in Table 5-2 . It was detected in groundwater samples underneath a tanker truck spill at concentrations up to 2,200 ppm (Halvorsen and Ohneck 1985) . Interpretation of the concentration of 2-butanone found in groundwater samples should be made carefully, and should take into account the experimental methods used in the determinations ; results may be skewed due to the presence of 2-butanone in the adhesives used to cement PVC well pipes together (Sosebee et al
. 1983) . 2-Butanone has been detected in the effluent of various industrial processes . It was found in six of seven waste water samples from energyrelated processes at a concentration up to 645 ppb (Pellizzari et al . 1979) . 2-Butanone was detected in the waste water of a specialty chemical manufacturing plant at a concentration of 8-20 ppm, but not in the receiving river water or its sediment (Jungclaus et al
. 1978) . It was also detected ii the waste water from shale oil processing at a concentration of 0 .4-18 ppin (Hawthorne and Sievers 1984) . In 1982, 2-butanone was detected at concentrations of 83 ppb or less in the waste water entering Cincinnati treatment plants (Dunovant et al . 1986) . 2-Butanone has been detected in 77 of 357 surface water samples at U.S . hazardous waste sites at a geometric mean concentration of 11 ppb for the positive samples (CLPSD 1988) . It was qualitatively detected in the Black Warrier River, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Bertsch et al

. 1975), and in sea water from the straits of Florida at 0-22 ppb in 1968 (Corwin 1969) . 5 .4 .3 Soi l Limited data are available on the detection of 2-butanone in soil samples . It has been found in 309 of 357 hazardous waste sites monitored by the CLP at a geometric mean concentration of 87 ppb for the positive samples (CLPSD 1988) . 5 .4 .4 Other Environmental Media 2-Butanone has been detected as a natural component of numerous types of foods . It has been qualitatively identified as a volatile constituent in raw chicken breast muscle, milk, roasted filberts (nuts), Beaufort (Gruyere) and cheddar cheese, bread dough, and intact tree-ripened nectarines (Dumont and Adda 1978 ; Gordon and Morgan 1979 ; Grey and Shrimpton 1967 ; Keen et al . 1974 ;p. 7
77 5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE

Kinlin et al . 1972 ; Sosulski and Mahmoud, 1979 ; Takeoka et al . 1988) . The mean concentration of 2-butanone in dried beans, split peas, and lentils was 148, 110, and 50 ppm, respectively (Lovegren et al . 1979) . 2-Butanone has been detected in southern peas at a median concentration of 120 ppb (Fisher et al . 1979), and it has been qualitatively detected in winged beans and soybeans (Del Rosario et al . 1984) . It has also been detected in cigarette smoke (Higgins et al . 1983 ; Osborne et al . 1956) . 5 .5 GENERAL POPULATION AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE Available monitoring data suggest that the general population is exposed to 2-butanone . In the early stages of the Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) study, 2-butanone was qualitatively detected in 3 of 8 personal air samples, 5 of 12 breath samples, and 1 of 1 drinking water sample obtained from 12 volunteers living in urban areas of New Jersey or North Carolina (Wallace et al . 1984) . 2-Butanone has also been detected in the expired air of 206 of 387 samples (53 .2%) taken from 54 adult, nonsmoking, urban dwelling subjects, at an average concentration of 3 .6 ng/L (Krotoszynski et al . 1979) . It was detected in the expired air of six of eight male volunteers, three of whom were smokers (Conkle et al
. 1975) . 2-Butanone was found in 5 of 12 samples of human mothers' milk from subjects in 4 different U.S . urban areas (Pellizzari et al . 1982) . It has been qualitatively detected in the indoor air of homes in Chicago (Jarke et al
. 1981) and in Canadian residential and office buildings (Tsuchiya 1987) . Exposure to 2-butanone by the general population may occur by ingestion of contaminated drinking water . This compound has been identified in U.S . drinking water supplies (Bertsch et al . 1975 ; Coleman et al . 1976 ; EPA 1974, 1975 ; Kopfler et al . 1977 ; Ogawa and Fritz 1985 ; Scheiman et al . 1974) . Inhalation is also a likely route of exposure to 2-butanone, especially during the household use of commercial coatings that use 2-butanone as a solvent
. Exposure by dermal contact may also occur during the use of such coatings
. 2-Butanone is a naturally occurring constituent in a variety of common foods (Del Rosario et al . 1984 ; Dumont and Adda 1978 ; Gordon and Morgan 1979 ; Grey and Shrimpton 1967 ; Keen et al . 1974 ; Kinlin et al . 1972 ; Lovegren et al . 1979 ; Takeoka et al . 1988) . Ingestion of these foods will result in exposure to 2-butanone . Exposure to 2-butanone may also occur while smoking (Higgins et al . 1983 ; Osborne et al . 1956) . Students taking undergraduate general chemistry laboratory courses may be also exposed to 2-butanone (Kolb 1988) . According to the National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES) conducted by NIOSH between 1980 and 1983, 1,221,587 workers, of which 201,308 were women, were potentially exposed to 2-butanone during that time period (NIOSH 1989) . Of these workers, 84% (80% for the women) were exposed during the use of trade name products containing 2-butanone . Occupational exposure is expected to occur by inhalation and dermal contact .