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2-BUTANONE

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 8k HUMAN SERVIC

Public Health Servic e

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease, Registry

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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

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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 data

CAS - Chemical Abstracts Servic e

EPA = Environmental Protection Agenc y

DOT/UN/NA/IMCOP = Department of Transportation/United Nations/North America/

International Maritime Consultive Organizatio n

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 System
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3 . CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL INFORMATIO N

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

Air 5

.4 ppm Amoore and Hautala 1983

.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

Closed cup -2 Riddick et al - C . 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) p to mg/m' in 1 ppm 2 .93 mg/m3,//

air

3 3

(20*C )

mg/m to ppm (v/v) in 1 mg/m - 0 .341 ppm

:112~

Bioconcentration factor

air (20*C) N

0 .98 (calculated Lyman et al . 198 2

from KOW)

Explosive limits No data
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5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSUR E

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 Soi l

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 range
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5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSUR E

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 ;
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5 . POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSUR E

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 .