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| CONTENTS1.1 What is 1,3-butadiene?1.2 How might I be exposed to 1,3-butadiene?1.3 How can 1,3-butadiene enter and leave             my body?1.4 How can 1,3-butadiene affect my health?1.5 Is there a medical test to determine             whether I have been exposed to 1,3-butadiene?1.6 What recommendations has the federal             government made to protect human health?1.7 Where can I get more information?ReferencesRELATED RESOURCESToxFAQ™*47k*ToxFAQ™             en Español*29k*Public Health Statement *15k*Toxicological Profile*1.8MB*MMG*63k*A-Z INDEXA�B�CD�E�FG�H�IJ�KLM�N�OP        Q�R�ST�U�VW�X�Y�ZATSDR RESOURCESToxFAQs™ToxFAQs™ en EspañolPublic Health StatementsToxicological ProfilesMinimum Risk LevelsMMGsMHMIsInteraction ProfilesPriority List of Hazardous SubstancesDivision of Toxicology                                 |  |  | July 1992Public Health Statementfor1,3-Butadiene CAS#106-99-0
**This Public Health Statement is the                     summary chapter from the Toxicological                     Profile for 1,3-butadiene. It is one in a series of Public                     Health Statements about hazardous substances and their health                     effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,                     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.**
 
This Statement was prepared to give you information about                     1,3-butadiene and to emphasize the human health effects that                     may result from exposure to it. The Environmental Protection                     Agency (EPA) has identified 1,177 sites on its National Priorities                     List (NPL). 1,3-Butadiene has been found at 3 of these sites.                     However, we do not know how many of the 1,177 NPL sites have                     been evaluated for 1,3-butadiene. As EPA evaluates more sites,                     the number of sites at which 1,3-butadiene is found may change.                     The information is important for you because 1,3-butadiene                     may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are                     potential or actual sources of human exposure to 1,3-butadiene. 

When a chemical is released from a large area, such as an                     industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle,                     it enters the environment as a chemical emission. This emission,                     which is also called a release, does not always lead to exposure.                     You can be exposed to a chemical only when you come into contact                     with the chemical. You may be exposed to it in the environment                     by breathing, eating, or drinking substances containing the                     chemical or from skin contact with it. 

If you are exposed to a hazardous substance such as 1,3-butadiene,                     several factors will determine whether harmful health effects                     will occur and what the type and severity of those health                     effects will be. These factors include the dose (how much),                     the duration (how long), the route or pathway by which you                     are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or skin contact),                     the other chemicals to which you are exposed, and your individual                     characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional status, family                     traits, lifestyle, and state of health. 
 1.1                   What is 1,3-butadiene?
1,3-Butadiene is a colorless gas with                     a mild gasoline-like odor. 1,3-Butadiene is almost always                     found at low levels in urban air samples, but it breaks down                     quickly in the air. In sunny weather, half of 1,3-butadiene                     goes away from the air in about 2 hours. Sunlight is not necessary                     for the removal of 1,3-butadiene from air, but it helps. In                     the winter time when the days are short or if it is not sunny,                     about half of it would still be gone in a few days.

                    Because we do not have enough information, we are not sure                     exactly what happens to 1,3-butadiene in soil or water. We                     do not know how often 1,3-butadiene is found in soil or water                     samples because we do not have reliable methods of looking                     for it there. If 1,3-butadiene were spilled on water or soil,                     based on its properties, we expect it to evaporate quickly                     into the air. We do not expect 1,3-butadiene to collect in                     plants or fish or to be found in the sediment of rivers and                     lakes. We also don't expect 1,3-butadiene to be found in soil                     or underground water sources, but we don't know this for sure.                     We also don't know how long it takes for 1,3-butadiene to                     break down in soil or in water because these types of studies                     have not been done.

                    Very large amounts of 1,3-butadiene are produced every year                     from petroleum. 1,3-Butadiene is used to make man-made rubber,                     which is then used mostly for car and truck tires. It is also                     used to make other kinds of rubber and plastics. 1,3-Butadiene                     is also found in small amounts in gasoline. Some plastics                     or man-made rubbers may have very small amounts of 1,3-butadiene                     trapped in them. These levels are not expected to be high                     enough to cause health problems. Small amounts are found in                     the exhaust of automobiles and trucks at approximately 10                     parts in 1 billion parts of air (ppb) and in gasoline vapors                     at 4 ppb. 1,3-Butadiene is also found in cigarette smoke,                     and it may also be found in the smoke of wood fires. 
back to top1.2                   How might I be exposed to 1,3-butadiene?
You can be exposed to 1,3-butadiene by                     breathing air, drinking water, or eating food contaminated                     with it. Also, people most likely to be exposed to 1,3-butadiene                     are workers in the production of rubber, plastics, and resins.

                    1,3-Butadiene has been found at three hazardous waste sites.                     It has been detected in gases coming from soil. We do not                     have enough information to know exactly how people near hazardous                     waste sites may be exposed to 1,3-butadiene.

                    Because 1,3-butadiene is a gas, you are most likely exposed                     to it by breathing contaminated air. Large amounts of 1,3-butadiene                     in the air come from leaks or intentional releases at manufacturing                     plants. Because it is found in the exhaust of cars and trucks,                     and in the smoke from wood fires and cigarettes, it is always                     present at very low levels in the air around cities and towns.                     The average amount of 1,3-butadiene in the air is 0.3 parts                     of 1,3-butadiene per billion parts of air (ppb) in cities                     and suburban areas. These levels are not expected to cause                     any health problems. The amount of 1,3-butadiene in the air                     may be much higher near polluted cities or near oil refineries,                     chemical manufacturing plants, and plastic and rubber factories                     where this chemical is made or used. The amount in the air                     can also be very high if 1,3-butadiene is accidentally spilled                     during shipment from one place to another. 1,3-Butadiene has                     been measured at very low levels (1-10 ppb) in the plastic                     or rubber of food containers, but it has not often been found                     in food samples. These amounts are not expected to cause any                     health problems. The manufacture of food containers is closely                     regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the                     United States. 1,3-Butadiene has been found in drinking water,                     but we do not know what the concentration was or where it                     came from. 
back to top1.3                   How can 1,3-butadiene enter and leave my body?
1,3-Butadiene can enter your body through                     your lungs if you breathe air contaminated with it. 1,3-Butadiene                     may also enter your body through the skin if you come into                     contact with it, but we do not know how much enters this way.                     We do not know if 1,3-butadiene is present in ground or surface                     waters near hazardous wastes sites or what happens to it after                     you drink water contaminated with this compound. Although                     1,3-butadiene has been found at only three NPL waste sites,                     people at or near these waste sites may be exposed by breathing                     1,3-butadiene that evaporates into the air. The amount of                     1,3-butadiene that enters the body depends on the amount in                     the environment and the length of time a person comes into                     contact with it. Animal studies have shown that the breakdown                     products of 1,3-butadiene leave the body in the urine and                     in the air breathed out. We don't know what happens to 1,3-butadiene                     in the body if it is found in water that people drink. 
back to top1.4                   How can 1,3-butadiene affect my health?
Short-term exposure to high levels of                     1,3-butadiene causes eye, nose, and throat irritation. Exposure                     to very high levels could occur during accidental release                     and could lead to symptoms like drunkenness and unconsciousness,                     or even to death. However, no such accidental releases have                     been reported so far. We do not know the exact levels in air                     that cause these effects in humans. Studies of rubber industry                     workers suggested possible harmful effects such as more cases                     of heart diseases, blood diseases, lung diseases, and even                     cancer from the long-term exposure to low levels of 1,3-butadiene.                     These rubber industry workers were also exposed to other chemicals                     along with 1,3-butadiene, so we do not know for sure which                     chemical (or a combination of them) caused these effects.                     In addition, the effect of harmful habits like smoking was                     not considered in the evaluation of health risks of occupational                     exposure to 1,3-butadiene. 1,3-Butadiene has a gasoline-like                     odor, which some people can smell at a concentration as low                     as 1.6 ppm. Skin contact with liquid 1,3-butadiene can cause                     irritation and frostbite in humans.

                    Laboratory animals that breathed in high levels of 1,3-butadiene                     for a short time died. Mice that survived exposure to 1,3-butadiene                     longer than 14 days had damage in the organs that make blood                     cells and damage to nose tissues. Pregnant mice that breathed                     in low amounts of 1,3-butadiene had miscarriages. Birth defects                     were found in offspring of rats and mice exposed to 1,3-butadiene                     during pregnancy. Rats that breathed in lower levels of 1,3-butadiene                     for more than 1 year had kidney disease and damaged lungs;                     some of them died. Mice that breathed in lower levels of 1,3-butadiene                     for more than 1 year had harmful effects in their reproductive                     organs and damaged livers. Rats and mice that breathed in                     small amounts of 1,3-butadiene for a long time period developed                     cancer in many organs.

                    There is no information on human or animal health effects                     from eating food or drinking water containing 1,3-butadiene.

                    There is no information on animal health effects from skin                     contact with 1,3-butadiene.
back to top1.5                   Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed                   to 1,3-butadiene?
We have no reliable                     medical test to determine whether you have been exposed to                     1,3-butadiene at this time, but scientists are trying to find                     a way to test blood to see if 1,3-butadiene attaches to certain                     compounds such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or proteins                     that are found in the blood. 
back to top1.6                   What recommendations has the federal government made to protect                   human health?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires industries                     to report spills of 1 pound or more of 1,3-butadiene. EPA                     also intends to add 1,3-butadiene to the list of hazardous                     air pollutants. 

1,3-Butadiene levels in the workplace are controlled by the                     Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The                     previous limit in workplace air was 1,000 ppm, averaged over                     an 8-hour workday in a 40-hour workweek. However, the National                     Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended                     that OSHA consider lowering this limit because 1,3-butadiene                     has caused cancer in animals. OSHA is in the process of lowering                     it. 
back to top1.7                   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 back to topReferences
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease                     Registry (ATSDR). 1992. Toxicological                     profile for 1,3-butadiene. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department                     of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.                    
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ATSDR Information Center / [email protected] /  1-888-422-8737This page was updated on  August , 2008

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