Coma or death due to respiratory failure may occur in individuals exposed to high doses of methanol. Contact of skin with methanol can produce mild dermatitis. Tests involving acute exposure of animals, such as the LC 50 and LD 50 tests in rats, mice, and rabbits, have demonstrated methanol to have low acute toxicity from oral or inhalation exposure, and moderate acute toxicity from dermal exposure. Birth defects, involving skeletal, cardiac, and urinary system deformities, have been observed in the offspring of rats exposed to methanol by inhalation. EPA has not classified methanol with respect to carcinogenicity.
Methanol occurs as a flammable, mobile, colorless liquid that is miscible with water.
It is also used as a solvent in the manufacture of cholesterol, streptomycin, vitamins, hormones, and other pharmaceuticals. Methanol is also an ingredient in paint and varnish removers. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Toxicology Information Program, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD. 1993. Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens .