TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry June 1995 Additional Resources http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp77.html OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS ii DISCLAIMER The use of company or product name(s) is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS iii UPDATE STATEMENT Toxicological profiles are revised and republished as necessary, but no less than once every three years. For information regarding the update status of previously released profiles, contact ATSDR at: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Toxicology/Toxicology Information Branch 1600 Clifton Road NE, E-29 Atlanta, Georgia 30333 OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS vii CONTRIBUTORS CHEMICAL MANAGER(S)/AUTHOR(S): Henry Abadin, M.S.P.H. ATSDR, Division of Toxicology, Atlanta, GA Fernando Llados, Ph.D. Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC THE PROFILE HAS UNDERGONE THE FOLLOWING ATSDR INTERNAL REVIEWS: 1. Green Border Review. Green Bonier review assures consistency with ATSDR policy. 2. Health Effects Review. The Health Effects Review Committee examines the health effects chapter of each profile for consistency and accuracy in interpreting health effects and classifying end points. 3. Minimal Risk Level Review. The Minimal Risk Level Workgroup considers issues relevant to substance-specific minimal risk levels (MRLs), reviews the health effects database of each profile, and makes recommendations for derivation of MRLs. 4. Quality Assurance Review. The Quality Assurance Branch assures that consistency across profiles is maintained, identifies any significant problems in format or content, and establishes that Guidance has been followed. OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS ix PEER REVIEW A peer review panel was assembled for Otto Fuel II and its components. The panel consisted of the following members: 1 . Steven Godin, Ph.D., DABT, Research Scientist, Drug Metabolism, CEPHALON, Inc., West Chester, Pennsylvania; 2 . Dr. Arthur Gregory, Private Consultant, Techto Enterprises, Sterling, Virginia; and 3 . Dr. Richard Stewart, Private Consultant, Racine, Wisconsin. These experts collectively have knowledge of Otto Fuel II and its components’ physical and chemical properties, toxicokinetics, key health end points, mechanisms of action, human and animal exposure, and quantification of risk to humans. All reviewers were selected in conformity with the conditions for peer review specified in Section 104(i)( 13) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended. Scientists from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have reviewed the peer reviewers’ comments and determined which comments will be included in the profile. A listing of the peer reviewers’ comments not incorporated in the profile, with a brief explanation of the rationale for their exclusion, exists as part of the administrative record for this compound. A list of databases reviewed and a list of unpublished documents cited are also included in the administrative record. The citation of the peer review panel should not be understood to imply its approval of the profile’s final content. The responsibility for the content of this profile lies with the ATSDR. OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS 1 1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT This statement was prepared to give you information about Otto Fuel II and its components, and to emphasize the human health effects that may result from exposure to them. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 1,397 hazardous waste sites as the most serious in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal clean-up activities. Otto Fuel II has been found at two of the sites on the NPL. However, the number of NPL sites evaluated for Otto Fuel II and its components is not known. As EPA evaluates more sites, the number of sites at which Otto Fuel II and its components are found may increase. This information is important for you to know because Otto Fuel II and its components may cause harmful health effects and because these sites are potential or actual sources of human exposure to Otto Fuel II and its components. When a chemical is released from a large area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment as a chemical emission. This emission, which is also called a release, does not always lead to exposure. You can be exposed to a chemical only when you come into contact with the chemical. You may be exposed to it in the environment by breathing, eating or drinking substances containing the chemical, or from skin contact with it. If you are exposed to a hazardous chemical such as Otto Fuel II and its components, several factors will determine whether harmful health effects will occur, and what the type and severity of those health effects will be. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), the route or pathway by which you are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or skin contact), the other chemicals to which you are exposed, and your individual characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional status, family traits, life-style, and state of health. OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS 2 1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 1.1 WHAT ARE OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS? Otto Fuel II is a distinct-smelling, reddish-orange, oily liquid that the U.S. Navy uses as a fuel for torpedo and other weapons systems. It is a mixture of three synthetic substances. It contains mostly propylene glycol dinitrate, but it also contains dibutyl sebacate and 2-nitrodiphenylamine. Propylene glycol dinitrate is the explosive part of Otto Fuel II. It is a colorless liquid with an unpleasant odor. Other names for propylene glycol dinitrate are PGDN, 1,Zpropylene glycol dinitrate, and 1,2-propanediol dinitrate. Dibutyl sebacate is a clear liquid. It is most often used for making plastics, many of which are used for packaging food. It is also used to enhance flavor in foods such as ice cream, candy, baked goods, and nonalcoholic drinks. Some shaving creams also contain dibutyl sebacate. Other names for dibutyl sebacate are decanedioic acid, dibutyl ester; sebacic acid, dibutyl ester; and dibutyl decanedioate. 2-Nitrodiphenylamine is a solid. Otto Fuel II contains 2-nitrodiphenylamine to control the explosion of propylene glycol dinitrate. It is also used as a solvent dye. Other names for 2-nitrodiphenylamine are 2-nitrobenzenamine, 2-nitro-N-phenyl; 2-nitro-N-phenylaniline; and Sudan Yellow 1339. See Chapters 3 and 4 for more information. 1.2 WHAT HAPPENS TO OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS WHEN THEY ENTER THE ENVIRONMENT? Otto Fuel II enters the environment mainly in waste water from Navy facilities that produce it or are involved in torpedo rework operations. Otto Fuel II may also be spilled by accident or be disposed of improperly and contaminate soil. We do not have much information on what happens to Otto Fuel II and its components when they enter the environment. We do know OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS 3 1. PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT that Otto Fuel II enters the environment as a mixture of three separate components. A large portion of the propylene glycol dinitrate will evaporate very rapidly from the water or the surface of wet soil, but a small portion of it will be broken down by light to other chemicals. Propylene glycol dinitrate that enters the air is probably also broken down by light. Some studies suggest that propylene glycol dinitrate in water or soil is broken down by microorganisms that are normally present, but not all studies agree about this point. It is unlikely that 2-nitrodiphenylamine will evaporate from water or soil into the air. 2-Nitrodiphenylamine will also probably not stay dissolved in water because it does not dissolve easily in water and because it most likely sticks to particles in the water or soil. 2-Nitrodiphenylamine that enters the water is broken down by light. A portion of 2-nitrodiphenylamine in the water or soil also is broken down by microorganisms. We do not know which of the two processes (light- or microorganism-assisted) is more important in breaking down this chemical in the environment. Many microorganisms in water and soil have the capability to break down dibutyl sebacate. We do not have any information on other ways that dibutyl sebacate might be broken down in water or soil. There is no evidence that dibutyl sebacate evaporates into the air from soil or water. You will find more information about the fate and movement of Otto Fuel II and its components in the environment in Chapter 5. 1.3 HOW MIGHT I BE EXPOSED TO OTTO FUEL II AND ITS COMPONENTS? Humans are most likely to be exposed to Otto Fuel II or its components in areas where Otto Fuel II is used as a torpedo fuel or where it is made. The most likely ways these people will be exposed to Otto Fuel II are by breathing contaminated air and by touching the fuel during handling. One of the chemicals that makes up Otto Fuel II, propylene glycol dinitrate, was measured at levels of less than 1 part per million (ppm) parts of air in a facility where Otto Fuel II was used. Another chemical found in Otto Fuel II, 2-nitrodiphenylamine, was measured at levels of 1-14 ppm in waste water released from a plant where torpedo fuel was being manufactured. This chemical was also measured at levels of 0.5-12.2 ppm in the sediment of the river where the waste water was dumped.