Acute exposures to methyl ethyl ketone, health effects, and safety guidance for occupational settings.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chittiboyina S
• Description:
  Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), also known as 2- butanone, is a colorless industrial solvent with a sharp odor that is used in surface coating, synthetic resins, artificial leathers, and glues. MEK is often used in mixtures with acetone, toluene, or alcohols. Acute exposure to MEK in humans has been reported to cause irritation to eyes, nose, and throat in addition to neurological effects such as depression, nausea, and headache. Acute exposures, defined as a single exposure or an exposure for a short duration of time might sometimes be lethal or pose immediate danger to health. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) develops immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) values to identify air concentration levels that are lethal and may cause adverse health effects and at/ above which workers must escape from the contaminated environment. Findings from a series of NIOSH-sponsored human experimental studies report that at exposure concentrations of MEK ranging from 200-400 ppm for 2-4 hours duration, there were no significant neurobehavioral effects based on psychomotor tests for choice reaction time, visual vigilance, and self-reported mood states. There was no report of irritation to throat, tearing of eyes, or headache and nausea except for the report of a strong odor. However, animal studies have shown that MEK exposures to 10,000-30,000 ppm for 10- 30 minutes are associated with a 50% decrease in respiration (RD50) and lack of response to stimulus. At higher concentrations of 65,000 ppm for 45 minutes, 50% of the animals are reported dead (LD50). Based on evaluation of toxicological evidence, including dose-response information from human and animal studies, we have assessed the toxicological endpoints for acute exposure to MEK as respiratory irritation, neurobehavioral effects, and lethality at very high doses. After conducting a risk assessment using LD50 data from animal studies, adjusting exposure time to 30 minutes, and applying appropriate uncertainty factors, the current IDLH value is set at 2650 ppm. For acute sensory irritants like MEK, RD50s might be appropriate to rank the potency and establish exposure limits. Hence, our future goal is to assess the applicability of RD50 and evaluating appropriate uncertainty factors to assess an IDLH for MEK that is more protective to workers in occupational settings. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Acetone Environmental Exposure Eye Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sense Organs Solvents Toluene Toxicology

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• Keywords:
  Solvents; Synthetic resins; Acetone; Toluenes; Alcohols; Exposure levels; Risk factors; Eyes; Throat; Neurological reactions; IDLH; Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health; Health effects; Toxicology
• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSI - Division of Science Integration
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  186
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064938
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2022 Mar; 186(S1):337
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methyl ethyl ketone (CAS RN 78-93-3)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 61st Annual Meeting & ToxExpo, March 27-31, 2022, San Diego, California
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7c3897e3df48e9ede0d9fbda9b31485472c34994a84acb8e0ddb19273d57749e529223ed790c8d3ba3fef841582fae5c6e874fceddb2e40d8f16305bd91f1248
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248629/cdc_248629_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 225.03 KB ]