Mutagenic action of aromatic epoxy resins.

Abstract

EPOXY RESINS are used extensively for protective coatings and in paints and adhesives; the consumption of epoxy resins during 1973 was 190,000 metric tons, which is an almost twofold increase over a period of 10 years1. About 90% of the epoxy resins used are manufactured by condensation of two molecules of epichlorhydrin with one or more molecules of bisphenol A (2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl)-propane). The mutagenic action of simple epoxides such as ethylenoxide and epichlorhydrin was first shown in fruit flies2 and has subsequently been demonstrated in a wide range of organisms. Epoxy resins are diepoxides and bifunctional alkylating agents, and bifunctional alkylating epoxides are known to be mutagenic3,4. Mutagens are suspected of having a carcinogenic effect because of the relationship between carcinogenicity and mutagenicity5 and most diepoxides are carcinogenic in mice and rats6. We report here that aromatic epoxy resins are mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium, and may thus represent a cancer risk in man.