Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Dichloromethane (Methylene Chloride) (CAS No. 75-09-2) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Inhalation Studies)

摘要

Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of dichloromethane (DCM, methylene chloride; 99% pure) were conducted by inhalation exposure of groups of 50 male and 50 female F344/N rats and B6C3F1 mice 6 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 102 weeks. The exposure concentrations used (0, 1,000, 2,000, or 4,000 ppm for rats and 0, 2,000, or 4,000 ppm for mice) were selected on the basis of results from 13-week inhalation studies in which groups of 10 rats and 10 mice of each sex were exposed to dichloromethane at concentrations of 525-8,400 ppm 6 hours per day, 5 days per week. During the 2-year studies in rats, body weight gains for exposed males and females were comparable to those of the chamber controls. The survival of exposed male rats was comparable to that of the chamber controls; however, the survival of all groups of males at the termination of the study was low (control, 16/50; low dose, 16/50; mid dose, 17/50; high dose, 9/50). Most of the early deaths among male rats occurred during the final weeks of the study; the survival of male rats through week 86 of the study was 36/50, 39/50, 37/50, and 33/50. This decreased survival is believed to be related to the high incidence of leukemia (34/50; 26/50; 32/50; 35/50).