Subchronic Dermal Exposure Study of Diethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether and Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether in the Male Guinea Pig

摘要

Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether (DEGME) has been selected as a replacement anti-icing additive for ethylene glycol monomethly ether (EGME) in Navy jet aircraft fuel. This experiment was performed to determine whether DEGME produced similar toxicity to EGME following dermal exposure. Male guinea pigs were dermally exposed to 1.00, 0.20, 0.04, or 0 (control) g/kg/day DEGME for 13 weeks, 5 days/week, 6 hr day. Another group of animals was similarly exposed to 1.00 g/kg/day EGME. Body weights as well as testicular and spenic weights were reduced as a result of exposure to EGME. DEGME-exposed animals exhibited decreased splenic weight in the high- and medium-dose (1.00 and 0.20 g/kg/day) exposure groups only. Hemotologic changes in EGME-exposed animals included mild anemia with increased erythrocytic means corpuscular volumes and a lymphopenia with increased neutrophils. Similar hematological change were not observed in any animals exposed to DEGME. Serum creating kinase activity was increased in animals exposed to EGME, and serum lactate dehydrogenase activity was inreased in EGME and 1.00 g/kg/day DEGME-expose animals. In general DEGME produced minimal toxicological changes followning dermal exposure, whereas the toxicological changes observed following similar exposre to EGME were much more profound.