SUBSTANCE PROFILES

Tetranitromethane 

CAS No. 509-14-8

Reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen

First Listed in the Seventh Annual Report on Carcinogens (1994)

Carcinogenicity

Tetranitromethane is reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen

based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental

animals. Exposure to tetranitromethane in a two-year inhalation

bioassay caused a dose-related increase in alveolar/bronchiolar

neoplasms to nearly all mice and rats exposed to concentrations of 2

and 5 ppm respectively. The incidences of these neoplasms in lower

exposure concentration groups (2 ppm for rats and 0.5 ppm for mice)

were 66% and 44% in male and female rats, respectively, and 54%

and 48% in male and female mice, respectively (NTP 1990). The

majority of animals with alveolar/bronchiolar neoplasms had

neoplasms diagnosed as carcinomas, and these neoplasms frequently

metastasized to a variety of organs. Squamous cell carcinomas of the

lung were also markedly increased in rats exposed to 5 ppm. This

particular type of neoplasm has been found in only 3 of approximately

1,600 untreated control male rats and in none of a similar number of

untreated female controls (NTP 1990). 

No adequate human studies of the relationship between exposure

to tetranitromethane and human cancer have been reported (IARC

1996).

Properties

Tetranitromethane is a colorless to pale yellow, oily liquid with a

pungent odor. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, but it is insoluble in

water. It is sensitive to heat, friction, and shock. It is prepared by

nitration of acetic anhydride with anhydrous nitric acid (Merck 1989).

It is an oxidizer and is highly explosive in the presence of impurities. In

addition, tetranitromethane is the principal volatile contaminant of

TNT and may constitute as much as 0.12% of the crude material

(NTP 1990).

Use

Tetranitromethane is used as an oxidizer in rocket propellants and

explosives, and as an additive to increase the cetane number of diesel

fuel (NTP 1990, IARC 1996, HSDB 2000). It is also used as a

reagent for detecting the presence of double bonds in organic

compounds, and as a mild nitrating reagent, reacting with tyrosine

residues in proteins.

Production

No current estimates of the amount of tetranitromethane

commercially produced were found in the literature. Chem Sources

(2001) lists six current suppliers of tetranitromethane in the United

States. In Germany during World War II, attempts were made to

synthesize large amounts for use as a substitute for nitric acid in rocket

fuel. This method, involving the nitration of acetic anhydride with

nitric acid, allowed a production rate of up to 10 tons within a few

weeks, but the process was costly. By the end of the war, a less-costly

method was devised using acetylene and nitric acid, with a reported

capacity of 10 kg/day (NTP 1990).

Exposure

The primary route of potential human exposure to tetranitromethane is

inhalation. Historically, human exposure to tetranitromethane

presumably occurred during the manufacture and use of TNT (NTP

1990). Tetranitromethane may be released into the environment during

its manufacture and use as a rocket fuel, diesel fuel booster, organic

reagent, or as an explosive in mixture with toluene (HSDB 2000).

During the early part of World War I, there was a high incidence of

“TNT intoxication” in U.S. and British facilities involved in TNT

production; an additional step involving washing the crude material

with a sodium sulfite solution to hydrolyze the tetranitromethane was

introduced to alleviate this problem. Tetranitromethane has been

reported to be an atmospheric pollutant emitted as a by-product of

explosives produced in factories owned by the U.S. Government. The

estimated “worst-case” pollutant level of tetranitrotoluene in the vicinity

of the factories was 20 mg/m3 (approximately 2.5 ppm). The National

Occupational Exposure Survey, conducted by NIOSH from 1981 to

1983, indicated that 1,445 workers, including 230 women, were

potentially exposed to tetranitromethane. This estimate was based on

observations of the actual use of the compound (NIOSH 1984).

Regulations

DOT

Tetranitromethane is considered a hazardous material and special requirements have

been set for marking, labeling, and transporting this material

EPA

Clean Air Act

Prevention of Accidental Release: Threshold Quantity (TQ) = 10,000 lb

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

Reportable Quantity (RQ) = 10 lb

Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act

Reportable Quantity (RQ) = 10 lb

Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) = 500 lb

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Listed Hazardous Waste: Waste codes in which listing is based wholly or partly on

substance - P112

Listed as a Hazardous Constituent of Waste

OSHA

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) = 1 ppm (8 mg/m3)

Guidelines

ACGIH

Threshold Limit Value - Time-Weighted Average Limit (TLV-TWA) = 0.005 ppm

NIOSH

Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) = 1 ppm (8 mg/m3)

Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) = 4 ppm

REFERENCES

ChemSources. 2001. Chemical Sources International, Inc. http://www.chemsources.com.

HSDB. 2000. Hazardous Substances Data Base. National Library of Medicine. http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?HSDB.

IARC. 1996. Printing Processes and Printing Inks, Carbon Black and Some Nitro Compounds. IARC

Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Humans, vol. 65. Lyon, France:

International Agency for Research on Cancer. 578 pp.

Merck. 1989. The Merck Index, 11th ed. Rahway, NJ: Merck & Company, Inc. 

NIOSH. 1984. National Occupational Exposure Survey (1981-83). Cincinnati, OH: U. S. Department of

Health and Human Services. http://www.cdc.gov/noes/noes3/empl0003.html.

NTP. 1990. Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Tetranitromethane (CAS No. 509-14-8) in F344/N

Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Inhalation Studies). Technical Report Series No 386. NIH Publication No. 90-

2841. Research Triangle Park, NC and Bethesda, NC: National Toxicology Program. 207 pp.

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NO2

NO2

NO2 NO2

REPORT ON CARCINOGENS, ELEVENTH EDITION