Ethylene glycol monobutyl ether: Acute, 9-day, and 90-day vapor inhalation studies in Fischer 344 rats

Abstract

The acute 4-hr LC50 (with 95% confidence limits) for Fischer 344 rats was determined to be 486 (339 to 696) ppm of ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGBE) for males and 450 (315 to 645) ppm for females. Notable observations included loss of coordination, red stained urine, and enlarged discolored kidneys at 867 and 523 ppm. In a subsequent study, rats were exposed for 9 days (6 hr/day) to EGBE concentrations of 245, 86, 20, or 0 (control) ppm. There were significant depressions of red blood cell (RBC) count (approximately 20% below control values), hemoglobin (Hgb), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) concentration and increases in nucleated erythrocytes, reticulocytes, and lymphocytes in males and females of the 245 ppm group. Decreased body weight gains and increased liver weights were also found. A 14-day postexposure recovery showed substantial reversal of the affected blood parameters. Similar, but less marked, hematologic effects were observed in rats exposed to 86 ppm of EGBE, while rats of the 20 ppm group were indistinguishable from controls. In a 90-day study, rats were exposed to EGBE concentrations of 77, 25, 5, or 0 ppm for 13 weeks (6 hr/day, 5 days/week). Slight, but statistically significant, decreases in RBC (13% below control) and Hgb, accompanied by an increase in MCH (11% above control) were observed in the 77 ppm-exposed females after 6 weeks. At the conclusion of the 90-day exposure regimen, the hematologic effects seen in the females had lessened (RBC was 7% below control) or returned to control value ranges. Furthermore, no treatment-related differences were found in body weight, organ weights, urine or serum chemistries, gross lesions, or microscopic lesions in males or females. There were no significant biological effects in rats exposed subchronically to 25 or 5 ppm. The subtle hematologic findings of these studies confirm the known RBC perturbations of EGBE.