Plants and animals are not likely to store methanol. Effects of methanol on human health and the environment depend on how much methanol is present and the length and frequency of exposure. Effects also depend on the health of a person or the condition of the environment when exposure occurs. People have died as a result of drinking large amounts of methanol. Drinking smaller, non lethal amounts of methanol adversely affects the human nervous system.
Effects range from headaches to incoordination similar to that associated with drunkenness.
Delayed effects such as severe abdominal, leg, and back pain can follow the inebriation effects of methanol. Loss of vision and even blindness can also occur after exposure to amounts of methanol causing inebriation. These effects are not likely to occur at levels of methanol that are normally found in the environment. Human health effects associated with breathing or otherwise consuming smaller amounts of methanol over long periods of time are not known. Workers repeatedly exposed to methanol have experienced several adverse effects.