Toxicity Evaluation of Thiodiglycol

摘要

Under multinational agreements, the United States and other countries are demilitarizing their stockpiles of chemical warfare agents, including sulfur mustard (2, 2'- ichlorodiethyl sulfide, HD). Sulfur mustard undergoeshydrolysis to form various products such as thiodiglycol (TG), 1,4-oxathiane, 1,4-dithiane, 2-vinylthionethanol and mustard chlorohydrin in biological or environmental systems (Rosenblatt et al., 1996). Thiodiglycol has been detected as a contaminant of soil and water at certain Army installations. It has been proposed to neutralize HD through a hydrolysis process to convert it to a biodegradable compound, TG (Lee et al., 1996). Thiodiglycol is a precursor in the production of HD and it is considered as a "Schedule 2" compound (chemicals with low to moderate commercial use) within the terms of theChemical Weapons Convention treaty (Ember, 1993,1996). It is prepared from ethylene oxide and hydrogen sulfide. It is a water-soluble liquid of low vapor pressure and has industrial use as a solvent or vat, basic and acid dyestuffs (Von Bramer and Davis, 1981). The toxicity data on TG are limited. Therefore the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) conducted several studies to develop the toxicity data base for the evaluation of environmental and health effects. In this paper we summarize the toxicity information on TG that we developed as well as a proposed oral Reference Dose (RfD) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the inclusion in Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS).