Further studies on the toxicology of the glycol ethers with emphasis on rapid screening and hazard assessment.

Abstract

The discovery that ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME) could affect the testis and the developing fetus in laboratory animals prompted further work to understand the effect of EGME and to examine additional glycol ethers to see if they showed EGME's reprotoxicity. Propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) was shown not to cause testicular atrophy or to affect the development of rats at 600 ppm by inhalation, whereas EGME caused testicular atrophy at 300 ppm and showed teratogenic potential at 100 ppm. Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether (diEGME) was found to show no teratogenic potential when administered subcutaneously in rats at up to 1000 microL/kg, whereas EGME had effects at 40 microL/kg. EGME has been shown to cause effects on the testis in rats after a single exposure to 600 ppm or above for 4 hr. The effects can be seen as little as 24 hr after exposure. Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGEE) also causes a reduction in testicular weight following a single exposure to saturated vapor for 3 hr (17 mg/l), but ethylene glycol monoisopropyl ether (EGPE) at 15 mg/l and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (EGBE) at 4 mg/l showed no effect on the testis.