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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

This public health statement tells you about acetone and the effects of exposure. This

information is important because this chemical may harm you.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,350 hazardous waste sites as the

most serious in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are

targeted for long-term federal clean-up. Acetone has been found in at least 560 NPL sites.

However, it’s unknown how many NPL sites have been evaluated for this substance.

As EPA tests more sites, the sites with acetone may increase. This is important because

exposure to acetone may harm you and because these sites are or may be sources of exposure.

When a large industrial plant or a small container releases a substance, it enters the

environment. This release does not always lead to exposure. You are exposed to a substance

only when you come in contact with it by breathing, eating, touching, or drinking.

If you are exposed to acetone, many factors determine if you’ll be harmed and how badly.

These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you’re exposed.

You must also consider the other chemicals you’re exposed to and your age, sex, nutritional

status, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.

1.1 WHAT IS ACETONE?

Acetone is a chemical that is found naturally in the environment and is also produced by

industries. Low levels of acetone are normally present in the body from the breakdown of

fat; the body can use it in normal processes that make sugar and fat (see Section 1.4).

Acetone is a colorless liquid with a distinct smell and taste. People begin to smell acetone in

air at 100 to 140 parts of acetone in a million parts of air (ppm), though some can smell it at

much lower levels. Most people begin to detect the presence of acetone in water at 20 ppm.

Acetone evaporates readily into the air and mixes well with water. Most acetone produced is
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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

used to make other chemicals that make plastics, fibers, and drugs. Acetone is also used to

dissolve other substances. You will find further information on the physical and chemical

properties of acetone, and its production and use in Chapters 3 and 4.

1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO ACETONE WHEN IT ENTERS THE ENVIRONMENT?

Acetone enters the air, water, and soil as a result of natural processes and human activities.

Acetone occurs naturally in plants, trees, volcanic gases, and forest fires. People and animals

breathe out acetone produced from the natural breakdown of body fat. Acetone is also

released during its manufacture and use, in exhaust from automobiles, and from tobacco

smoke, landfills, and certain kinds of burning waste materials. The levels of acetone in soil

increase mainly because of acetone-containing wastes being buried in landfills. Acetone is

present as a gas in air. Some acetone in air is lost when it reacts with sunlight and other

chemicals. Rain and snow also remove small amounts of acetone from the atmosphere and,

in the process, deposit it on land and water. About half the acetone in a typical atmosphere

at any time will be lost in 22 days. Microbes (minute life forms) in water remove some

acetone from water. Some acetone in water will evaporate into air. About half the acetone in

a stream will be removed from water in less than a day. Fish do not store acetone from

water in their bodies. Microbes in soil remove part of the acetone in soil. Some is lost from

soil by evaporation. Acetone molecules do not bind tightly to soil. Rainwater and melted

snow dissolve acetone and carry it deeper into the soil to groundwater. You will find further

information about the fate and movement of acetone in the environment in Chapter 5.

1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO ACETONE?

Your body makes small amounts of acetone. You can be exposed to a small amount of

acetone by breathing air, drinking water, and eating food with acetone. You can also be

exposed by contact with household chemicals with acetone. Several consumer products,

including certain nail polish removers, particle board, some paint removers, many liquid or

paste waxes or polishes, and certain detergents or cleansers, contain acetone. You can also be

exposed to acetone if you are exposed to isopropyl alcohol, because isopropyl alcohol changes
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to acetone in the body. The level of acetone in air and water is generally low. The amount

of acetone in the air of cities is generally higher than in remote and rural areas. The typical

level of acetone in the air of cities in the United States is about 7 parts of acetone per billion

parts of air (ppb). The level of acetone in air inside homes is usually slightly higher than in

outside air (8 ppb versus 7 ppb). This is because of household chemical use inside homes.

Acetone in drinking water is so low that its levels have not been measured in many samples.

In a national survey, the acetone level in drinking water from Seattle, Washington, was 1 ppb.

Acetone occurs naturally in many fruits and vegetables. The amount of acetone in food does

not increase because of processing or packaging. The average amount of acetone an adult in

the United States gets from food is not known.

People who work in certain industries that process and use acetone can be exposed to higher

levels than the general populace. These industries include certain paint, plastic, artificial

fiber, and shoe factories. Professional painters and commercial and household cleaners are

also likely to breathe or touch higher acetone concentrations than the general population. As

a member of the general public, you may be exposed to higher than normal levels of acetone

if you smoke cigarettes, frequently use acetone nail polish removers, live near landfill sites

that contain acetone, live near busy roadways (because automobile exhaust contains acetone),

or live near other facilities that are known to release acetone, such as incinerators. The

exposure from these sources will be mainly from breathing air that contains acetone or by

direct skin contact with it. In addition, children can be exposed to acetone by eating dirt or

by placing dirty hands in their mouths after exposing their skin to dirt from landfill sites.

You will find further information about acetone exposure in Chapter 5.

1.4 HOW CAN ACETONE ENTER AND LEAVE MY BODY?

Your body normally contains some acetone because it’s made during the breakdown of fat.

Your body will make more acetone from body fat if you are on a low-fat diet. In addition to

the acetone that your body makes from normal processes, acetone can enter your body if you

breathe air that contains acetone, drink water or eat food that contains acetone, or if you

touch liquid acetone or soil that contains acetone.
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The bloodstream absorbs acetone rapidly and completely from the lungs and stomach. The

bloodstream can also absorb acetone from the skin, but less rapidly than from the lungs and

stomach. Blood carries acetone to all body organs, but it does not stay there very long.

The liver breaks down acetone to chemicals that are not harmful. The body uses these

chemical to make glucose (sugar) and fats that make energy for normal body functions. The

breakdown of sugar for energy makes carbon dioxide that leaves your body in the air you

breathe out. These are normal processes in the body.

Not all the acetone that enters your body from outside sources is broken down. The amount

that is not broken down leaves your body mostly in the air that you breathe out. You also

breathe out more carbon dioxide than normal if you are exposed to acetone from sources

outside the body because more carbon dioxide is made from the extra acetone.

Only a small amount of acetone that is not broken down leaves the body in the urine. The

acetone that is not used to make sugar leaves your body within a few days in the air you

breathe out and in the urine. The amount of acetone that enters and leaves your body

depends on how much you’re exposed to and for how long. The higher the level of acetone

and the longer that you are exposed will cause acetone to leave your body more slowly, but

almost all the acetone will leave your body within 3 days after your exposure stops. If you

exercise or work while exposed to acetone in air, more will enter your lungs because you

breathe faster and more deeply during exercise. For more information on how acetone enters

and leaves the body, see Chapter 2.

1.5 HOW CAN ACETONE AFFECT MY HEALTH?

As mentioned in Section 1.4, low levels of acetone are normally present in the body from the

breakdown of fat. The body uses acetone in normal processes that make sugar and fats that

make energy for normal body functions. Many conditions can lead to higher-than-average

amounts of acetone in the body. For example, babies, pregnant women, diabetics, and people

who exercise, diet, have physical trauma, or drink alcohol can have higher amounts of acetone
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in their bodies. These higher amounts of acetone usually don’t cause health problems. In

addition, acetone can prevent convulsions.

Most of the information on how acetone affects human health comes from medical exams of

workers on a single workday; from lab experiments in humans exposed to acetone in air for a

few days; and from cases of people who swallowed acetone-based glue or fingernail polish

remover.

Workers and people exposed to acetone in the lab complained that acetone irritated their

noses, throats, lungs, and eyes. Some people feel this irritation at levels of 100 ppm acetone

in the air, and more people feel the irritation as the level in air increases. The workers who

complained of irritation were exposed to levels of 900 ppm or more. Workers exposed to

acetone at 12,000 ppm or higher also complained of headache, lightheadedness, dizziness,

unsteadiness, and confusion depending on how long they were exposed (from 2 minutes to

4 hours). Two workers exposed for 4 hours became unconscious.

In addition, some people who had casts applied with acetone were exposed to acetone that

evaporated into air during and after the casts were applied. These patients became nauseous,

vomited blood, and became unconscious. These cases happened many years ago; modern

hospitals have different methods that don’t use acetone when casts are applied. Some people

exposed to acetone in the air at about 250 ppm for several hours in the lab had headaches and

lacked energy, and they also had some mild behavioral effects. These effects showed up in

tests of how long it takes to react to a visual stimulus or the ability to hear different sounds.

Some people exposed to 500 ppm in the air for several hours in the lab had effects on the

blood, but other studies showed no effects on the blood at even higher exposure levels.

Some women exposed to 1,000 ppm for about 8 hours in a lab said that their periods came

earlier than expected. Workers are not usually exposed to levels higher than 750 ppm

anymore because of current government regulations. The regulation says workroom air

should contain no more than an average of 750 ppm. Most people can smell acetone in the

air at 100 to 140 ppm; that means you will probably smell acetone before you feel effects like
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headache and confusion. Levels of acetone in air in rural areas and in cities (less than 8 ppb)

are generally lower than this.

People who swallowed acetone or substances that contained acetone became unconscious, but

they recovered in the hospital. The amount of acetone that these people swallowed was not

always known, but one man swallowed about 2,250 milligrams of pure acetone per kilogram

of body weight (2,250 mg/kg). In addition to becoming unconscious, he had tissue damage in

his mouth and he later developed a limp, which eventually cleared up, and symptoms similar

to diabetes (excessive thirst, frequent urination). The amount of acetone in water or food

would never be high enough to cause these effects, but people, especially children, could

accidentally swallow enough acetone in nail polish remover or some household cleaners to

cause such effects.

In a lab experiment, people who had liquid acetone applied directly on their skin and held

there for a half hour developed skin irritation. When the skin was looked at under a

microscope, some of the skin cells were damaged.

Animals briefly exposed to high levels of acetone in the air also had lung irritation and

became unconscious; some died. Exposure at lower levels for short periods also affected

their behavior. Pregnant animals that were exposed to high levels of acetone in air had

livers that weighed more than usual and had fewer fetuses. The fetuses weighed less than

normal and had delayed bone development. We do not know how exposure to acetone in air

for longer than 2 weeks affects animals.

Animals given large amounts of acetone to swallow or drink for short periods had bone

marrow hypoplasia (fewer new cells being made), degeneration of kidneys, heavier than

normal livers and bigger liver cells, and collapse and listlessness. Pregnant mice that

swallowed acetone had lower body weights and produced fewer newborn mice. More of the

newborns of mice that had swallowed acetone died than newborns of mice that were not

given acetone.
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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

Male rats that swallowed or drank even small amounts of acetone for long periods had

anemia and kidney disease. The female rats did not have anemia, but they had kidney disease

when they swallowed a much larger amount of acetone than the male rats swallowed. The

female rats had livers and kidneys that weighed more than normal, and so did the male rats,

but only when they swallowed larger amounts of acetone than the females swallowed. The

male rats also had abnormal sperm. The female rats did not have any effects in their

reproductive organs. Rats also had signs that acetone caused effects on their nervous systems.

Acetone is irritating to the skin of animals when it is placed directly on their skin, and it

burns their eyes when placed directly in their eyes. One kind of animal (guinea pigs) even

developed cataracts in their eyes when acetone was placed on their skin.

We do not know whether many of the effects seen in animals would occur in humans.

People exposed to acetone were not examined for some effects or could not be examined for

effects that can be seen only by looking at internal organs under a microscope. The findings

in animals show that male rats are more likely than female rats to get blood and kidney

disease and effects on reproductive organs after exposure to acetone. This suggests that men

might be more likely to have effects of exposure to acetone than women.

One effect of acetone seen in animals is an increase in the amount of certain enzymes

(chemicals in the body that help break down natural substances in the body and chemicals

that enter the body). The increase in these enzymes caused by acetone exposure can make

some chemicals more harmful. This is one reason that people should be concerned about

being exposed to acetone; exposure is very likely to mixtures of chemicals in the

environment, near hazardous waste sites, or in the workplace is very likely.

Acetone does not cause skin cancer in animals when it is applied to their skin. We don’t

know whether acetone would cause cancer after breathing or swallowing it for long periods,

because no tests have been done. The Department of Health and Human Services and the

International Agency for Research on Cancer have not classified acetone for carcinogenic
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effects. The EPA has determined that acetone is not classifiable as to its human

carcinogenicity.

1.6 IS THERE A MEDICAL TEST TO DETERMINE WHETHER I HAVE BEEN

EXPOSED TO ACETONE?

Acetone can be measured in the air you breathe out, in the blood, and in the urine. Methods

for measuring acetone in breath, blood, and urine are available at most modern testing labs.

Doctors’ offices may not have the necessary equipment, but your doctor can take blood and

urine samples and send them to a testing lab. The measurement of acetone in breath, blood,

and urine can determine whether you have been exposed to acetone if the levels are higher

than those normally seen. They can even predict how much acetone you were exposed to.

However, normal levels of acetone in breath, blood, and urine can vary widely depending on

many factors, such as infancy, pregnancy, lactation, diabetes, physical exercise, dieting,

physical trauma, and alcohol. The odor of acetone on your breath can alert a doctor that you

have been exposed to acetone. An odor of acetone on your breath could also mean that you

have diabetes. Because acetone leaves your body within a few days after exposure, these

tests can tell only that you have been exposed to acetone within the last 2 or 3 days. These

tests cannot tell whether you will experience any health effects related to your exposure.

1.7 WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS HAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MADE TO

PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH?

EPA requires that spills of 5,000 pounds or more of acetone be reported. To protect workers,

the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a legal limit of 750 ppm

of acetone in workroom air. The regulation means that the workroom air should contain no

more than an average of 750 ppm of acetone over an 8-hour working shift or over a 40-hour

workweek.
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1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT

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, E-29

Atlanta, Georgia 30333

404-639-6000

This agency can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health clinics.

These clinics specialize in the recognition evaluation, and treatment of illness resulting from

exposure to hazardous substances.