Survey of N-Hexane
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Survey of n-hexane Part of the LOUS review Environmental Project No. 1628, 2014 Title: Authors and contributors: Survey of n-hexane Sonja Hagen Mikkelsen, Marlies Warming; COWI A/S, Denmark Jytte Syska, Al Voskian; Syska Consulting Published by: The Danish Environmental Protection Agency Strandgade 29 1401 Copenhagen K Denmark www.mst.dk/english Year: ISBN no. 2014 978-87-93283-41-1 Disclaimer: When the occasion arises, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency will publish reports and papers concerning re- search and development projects within the environmental sector, financed by study grants provided by the Danish Envi- ronmental Protection Agency. It should be noted that such publications do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. However, publication does indicate that, in the opinion of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the content represents an important contribution to the debate surrounding Danish environmental policy. While the information provided in this report is believed to be accurate, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency disclaims any responsibility for possible inaccuracies or omissions and consequences that may flow from them. Neither the Danish Environmental Protection Agency nor COWI or any individual involved in the preparation of this publication shall be liable for any injury, loss, damage or prejudice of any kind that may be caused by persons who have acted based on their understanding of the information contained in this publication. Sources must be acknowledged. 2 Survey of n-hexane Contents Preface ........................................................................................................................... 5 Summary and conclusions ............................................................................................ 8 Sammenfatning og konklusion .....................................................................................12 1. Introduction to the substance .............................................................................. 16 1.1 Definition of the substance ................................................................................................... 16 1.2 Physical and chemical properties ......................................................................................... 17 1.3 Function of the substances for main application areas ....................................................... 17 2. Regulatory framework ......................................................................................... 18 2.1 Legislation ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.1.1 Existing legislation ................................................................................................. 18 2.1.2 Classification and labelling ................................................................................... 22 2.1.3 REACH .................................................................................................................. 23 2.1.4 Other legislation/initiatives .................................................................................. 23 2.2 International agreements .................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Eco-labels ............................................................................................................................. 24 2.4 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 24 3. Manufacture and uses .......................................................................................... 25 3.1 Manufacturing ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.1.1 Manufacturing processes ...................................................................................... 25 3.1.2 Manufacturing sites and volumes ........................................................................ 26 3.2 Import and export n-hexane in Denmark and EU ............................................................. 26 3.3 Use .........................................................................................................................................27 3.3.1 General use .............................................................................................................27 3.3.2 Consumption of n-hexane in EU .......................................................................... 30 3.3.3 Consumption of n-hexane in Denmark ................................................................ 30 3.4 Historical trends in use ........................................................................................................ 33 3.4.1 EU .......................................................................................................................... 33 3.4.2 Denmark ................................................................................................................ 33 3.5 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 34 4. Waste management .............................................................................................. 35 4.1 Waste from manufacture and industrial use of n-hexane ...................................................35 4.2 Waste products from the use of n-hexane in mixtures and articles ...................................35 4.3 Release of n-hexane from waste disposal ............................................................................35 4.4 Summary and conclusions ....................................................................................................35 5. Environmental effects and exposure ................................................................... 36 5.1 Environmental fate .............................................................................................................. 36 5.1.1 Degradation ........................................................................................................... 36 5.1.2 Distribution ........................................................................................................... 36 5.2 Environmental hazard ..........................................................................................................37 5.2.1 Classification ..........................................................................................................37 5.2.2 Environmental effects ............................................................................................37 5.3 Environmental exposure ..................................................................................................... 39 Survey of n-hexane 3 5.3.1 Sources of release .................................................................................................. 39 5.3.2 Monitoring data .................................................................................................... 39 5.4 Environmental impact ......................................................................................................... 40 5.5 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 40 6. Human health effects and exposure..................................................................... 41 6.1 Human health hazard ........................................................................................................... 41 6.1.1 Classification .......................................................................................................... 41 6.1.2 Toxicokinetics......................................................................................................... 41 6.1.3 Acute and chronic effects ...................................................................................... 42 6.1.4 Reproductive toxicity ............................................................................................ 43 6.1.5 Mode of action ....................................................................................................... 44 6.1.6 No effect-levels ...................................................................................................... 44 6.2 Human exposure .................................................................................................................. 46 6.2.1 Direct exposure ..................................................................................................... 46 6.2.2 Indirect exposure ...................................................................................................47 6.3 Bio-monitoring data ............................................................................................................ 48 6.4 Human health impact .......................................................................................................... 49 6.5 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 49 7. Information on alternatives .................................................................................. 51 7.1 Identification of possible alternatives .................................................................................. 51 7.1.1 Alternatives to n-hexane in solvent extraction ..................................................... 51