Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether

Excerpt from NIOSH Pocket Guide for Dipropylene glycol methyl ether:

(General first aid procedures)

IN GENERAL, MATERIALS ... TOXIC AS STORED OR WHICH CAN DECOMP INTO TOXIC COMPONENTS ... SHOULD BE STORED IN COOL ... VENTILATED PLACE, OUT OF ... SUN, AWAY FROM ... FIRE HAZARD ... BE PERIODICALLY INSPECTED & MONITORED. INCOMPATIBLE MATERIALS SHOULD BE ISOLATED ... .

Stop discharge if possible. Call fire department. Avoid contact with liquid. Isolate and remove discharged material. Notify local health and pollution control agencies. Evacuate areas. Should be removed. Chemical and physical treatment. Effect of low concentrations on aquatic life is unknown. May be dangerous if it enters water intakes. Notify local health and wildlife officials. Notify operators of nearby water intakes. (USCG, 1999)

If dipropylene glycol methyl ether saturates the clothing, promptly remove the clothing and wash or shower.

SRP: The scientific literature for the use of contact lenses in industry is conflicting. The benefit or detrimental effects of wearing contact lenses depend not only upon the substance, but also on factors including the form of the substance, characteristics and duration of the exposure, the uses of other eye protection equipment, and the hygiene of the lenses. However, there may be individual substances whose irritating or corrosive properties are such that the wearing of contact lenses would be harmful to the eye. In those specific cases, contact lenses should not be worn. In any event, the usual eye protection equipment should be worn even when contact lenses are in place.

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is exempted from the requirement of a tolerance when used as a stabilizer in accordance with good agricultural practice as inert (or occasionally active) ingredients in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops only.

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is exempted from the requirement of a tolerance when used as a surfactant or a related adjuvant of a surfactant in accordance with good agricultural practice as inert (or occasionally active) ingredients in pesticide formulations applied to animals.

50.0 [ppm]

8 hr Time Weighted Avg (TWA): 100 ppm; 15 min Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL): 150 ppm, skin.

50 ppm [2021]

100.0 [ppm]

100 ppm (600 mg/m³)

TWA 100 ppm (600 mg/m3) [skin] See Appendix G

50 [ppm]

550 [ppm]

3300 [ppm]

TERRESTRIAL FATE: In a soil-water matrix, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether will be highly mobile. Sorption to soil particulates will be minimal. The primary removal mechanism in soil will probably be biodegradation. However, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether which is on the surface of dry soil may evaporate. (SRC)

AQUATIC FATE: Due to its miscibility in water, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is not expected to sorb to sediments or to bioconcentrate. Evaporation from the water to air is also expected to be minimal due to the low vapor pressure and high solubility of dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether. The primary degradation mechanisms in water is probably biodegradation, while photolysis and hydrolysis are probably insignificant. (SRC)

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether in the atmosphere is estimated to have a half-life of 3.4 hours(1). In addition to photochemical reactions, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether may be removed from the atmosphere by washout(SRC).

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether was detected in the final effluents from three different wastewater treatment plants in Illinois(1). Two of the treatment plants received wastewater from a variety of industries, while the third one received wastewater from a petroleum refinery. Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether concentration, however, was not determined.

THE SUBSTANCE WAS FOUND NOT TO BE AN IRRITANT TO THE SKIN & PATCH TESTS ON 250 HUMAN SUBJECTS PRODUCED NO SENSITIZATION.

WHILE NO INJURIES FROM THE INDUSTRIAL USE OF DOWANOL 50 B HAVE BEEN RECORDED, HIGH CONCN OF THE VAPOR CAUSE MARKED IRRITATION OF THE NASAL MUCOUS MEMBRANE, WHICH IS DIFFICULT FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO TOLERATE.

... UNDILUTED MATERIAL /WAS APPLIED/ TO SKIN OF HUMAN SUBJECTS. IN ONE GROUP IT ... /REMAINED/ IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH SKIN FOR 5 DAYS, & AGAIN 3 WK LATER FOR 48 HR; IN ANOTHER GROUP ... APPLIED FOR 4-8 HR EVERY OTHER DAY & AGAIN FOR 24-48 HR 3 WK LATER. /NO EVIDENCE OF IRRITATION, SENSITIZATION./

/LEVELS OF 300 TO 400 PPM/ ... WERE VERY DISAGREEABLE TO MAN; LEVELS OF 100 PPM, WHICH MIGHT BE VOLUNTARILY TOLERATED WITHOUT COMPLAINT, WERE CONSIDERED TO BE SAFE WITH RESPECT TO ORGANIC INJURY.

... /DIPROPYLENE GLYCOL MONOMETHYL ETHER/ CAUSED NEITHER IRRITATION NOR SENSITIZATION WHEN TESTED ON HUMAN SUBJECTS. IT IS LOW IN TOXICITY BY INHALATION. HAZARDS TO HEALTH ASSOC WITH HANDLING & ORDINARY USE OF THIS MATERIAL SEEM TO BE MINIMAL.

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is used as a component of a variety of industrial and consumer products, (hydraulic brake fluid, cosmetics, paints and coatings, paint and varnish removers, printing inks, textile dyes, floor polishes, cleaners surfactant for oil spills, and pesticide formulations(1-5); these would suggest widespread environmental release(SRC).

Five-, ten-, and twenty-day BOD values for dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether were reported as 0, 0, and 31%, respectively (expressed as percentage of theoretical oxygen demand)(1). The type of inoculum, however, was not specified. This delayed oxygen demand suggests that an acclimation period is required in order for a dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether-degrading population to become established. Thus, intermittent releases of dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether to the environment or to wastewater treatment plants may also require an acclimation period before significant amounts of dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether are removed(SRC). No information was found on the biodegradation of dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether in soil or natural waters.

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is exempted from the requirement of a tolerance when used as a stabilizer in accordance with good agricultural practice as inert (or occasionally active) ingredients in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops only.

Dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether is exempted from the requirement of a tolerance when used as a surfactant or a related adjuvant of a surfactant in accordance with good agricultural practice as inert (or occasionally active) ingredients in pesticide formulations applied to animals.