Methyl Benzoate

Fresh air, rest.

Remove contaminated clothes. Rinse and then wash skin with water and soap.

Rinse with plenty of water (remove contact lenses if easily possible). Refer for medical attention if irritation persists.

Rinse mouth. Seek medical attention if you feel unwell.

EYES: First check the victim for contact lenses and remove if present. Flush victim's eyes with water or normal saline solution for 20 to 30 minutes while simultaneously calling a hospital or poison control center. Do not put any ointments, oils, or medication in the victim's eyes without specific instructions from a physician. IMMEDIATELY transport the victim after flushing eyes to a hospital even if no symptoms (such as redness or irritation) develop.

Suitable extinguishing media: Use water spray, alcohol-resistant foam, dry chemical or carbon dioxide.

Advice for firefighters: Wear self-contained breathing apparatus for firefighting if necessary.

Extinguishing methods: Water may be used to blanket fire.

ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES: Personal precautions, protective equipment and emergency procedures: Use personal protective equipment. Avoid breathing vapors, mist or gas. Ensure adequate ventilation. Remove all sources of ignition. Beware of vapors accumulating to form explosive concentrations. Vapors can accumulate in low areas.; Environmental precautions: Prevent further leakage or spillage if safe to do so. Do not let product enter drains. Discharge into the environment must be avoided.; Methods and materials for containment and cleaning up: Contain spillage, and then collect with an electrically protected vacuum cleaner or by wet-brushing and place in container for disposal according to local regulations. Keep in suitable, closed containers for disposal.

SRP: Recycle any unused portion of the material for its approved use or return it to the manufacturer or supplier. Ultimate disposal of the chemical must consider: the material's impact on air quality; potential migration in air, soil or water; effects on animal, aquatic and plant life; and conformance with environmental and public health regulations. If it is possible or reasonable use an alternative chemical product with less inherent propensity for occupational harm/injury/toxicity or environmental contamination.

Product: This combustible material may be burned in a chemical incinerator equipped with an afterburner and scrubber. Offer surplus and non-recyclable solutions to a licensed disposal company.; Contaminated packaging: Dispose of as unused product.

Personal protection: filter respirator for organic gases and vapours adapted to the airborne concentration of the substance. Collect leaking and spilled liquid in sealable containers as far as possible. Absorb remaining liquid in sand or inert absorbent. Then store and dispose of according to local regulations.

Precautions for safe handling: Avoid contact with skin and eyes. Avoid inhalation of vapor or mist. Keep away from sources of ignition - No smoking. Take measures to prevent the build up of electrostatic charge.

Appropriate engineering controls: Handle in accordance with good industrial hygiene and safety practice. Wash hands before breaks and at the end of workday.

Gloves must be inspected prior to use. Use proper glove removal technique (without touching glove's outer surface) to avoid skin contact with this product. Dispose of contaminated gloves after use in accordance with applicable laws and good laboratory practices. Wash and dry hands.

SRP: The scientific literature for the use of contact lenses by industrial workers is inconsistent. The benefits 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.

TERRESTRIAL FATE: Based on a classification scheme(1), Koc values of 95-178(2-3) indicate that methyl benzoate is expected to have high to moderate mobility in soil(SRC). Volatilization of methyl benzoate from moist soil surfaces may be an important fate process(SRC) given a Henry's Law constant estimated as 3.24X10-5 atm-cu m/mole(SRC) based upon its vapor pressure, 0.38 mm Hg(4), and water solubility, 2.1X10+3 mg/L(5). Methyl benzoate is not expected to volatilize from dry soil surfaces(SRC) based upon a vapor pressure of 0.38 mm Hg at 25 °C(4). Using a Modified Sturm test, methyl benzoate achieved 62% biodegradation in activated sewage sludge after 29 days(6), suggesting that biodegradation is an important environmental fate process in soil(SRC).

AQUATIC FATE: Based on a classification scheme(1), Koc values of 95-178(2-3) indicate that methyl benzoate is not expected to adsorb to suspended solids and sediment(SRC). Volatilization from water surfaces is expected(3) based upon a Henry's Law constant estimated as 3.24X10-5 atm-cu m/mole(SRC) derived from its vapor pressure, 0.38 mm Hg(4), and water solubility, 2.1X10+3 mg/L(5). Using this Henry's Law constant and an estimation method(6), volatilization half-lives for a model river and model lake are 22 hours and 14 days, respectively(SRC). According to a classification scheme(7), an estimated BCF of 12(SRC), its log Kow of 2.12(8) and a regression-derived equation(9), suggests the potential for bioconcentration in aquatic organisms is low(SRC). Using a Modified Sturm test, methyl benzoate achieved 62% biodegradation in activated sewage sludge after 29 days(10), suggesting that biodegradation is an important environmental fate process in water(SRC).

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: According to a model of gas/particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds in the atmosphere(1), methyl benzoate, which has a vapor pressure of 0.38 mm Hg at 25 °C(2), will exist solely in the vapor phase in the ambient atmosphere. Vapor-phase methyl benzoate is degraded in the atmosphere by reaction with photochemically-produced hydroxyl radicals(SRC); the half-life for this reaction in air is estimated to be 38 days(SRC), calculated from its rate constant of 8.4X10-11 cu cm/molecule-sec at 25 °C(SRC) that was derived using a structure estimation method(3). Methyl benzoate does not contain chromophores that absorb at wavelengths >290 nm(4) and, therefore, is not expected to be susceptible to direct photolysis by sunlight(SRC).

Safe in the present practices of use and concentration. Ingredient, concentration, and use information are available in documents discoverable at https://cir-reports.cir-safety.org

IDENTIFICATION AND USE: Methyl benzoate is a colorless, transparent liquid. It is used in perfumery, as a solvent for cellulose esters and ethers, resins, rubber, and as a flavoring. It is also used as a dye carrier for dyeing polyester fibers, additive for disinfectants, soy sauce, and pesticides. Methyl benzoate is an intermediate in the production of other benzoic esters. HUMAN EXPOSURE AND TOXICITY: Humans using methyl benzoate have experienced irritation to the skin, eyes, mucous membranes, and upper respiratory tract. Inhalation can cause coughing and wheezing. Swallowing the liquid may cause chemical pneumonia. A maximization test was carried out on 25 volunteers. Methyl benzoate was tested at a concentration of 4% in petrolatum and produced no sensitization reactions. Generally, methyl benzoate is of low to moderate toxicity by ingestion and inhalation. ANIMAL STUDIES: Sublethal doses of methyl benzoate have been reported to increase leucocyte, erythrocyte, and reticulocyte counts and prothrombin time, and in a dose of 500 mg/kg, to reduce cholinesterase activity and ascorbic acid levels. Chronic admin of high doses resulted in damage to the central nervous system. In nonoccluded skin irritation test carried out on clipped rabbits, no signs of erythema were observed in any of the animals (14/14), 4 and 24 hr after the application of 0.5 mL undiluted methyl benzoate. Very slight erythema was observed in the remaining (12/12) rabbits 24 hr after a second application. Redness increased with successive treatments. Moderate to severe edema was observed in animals (4/4) receiving 6 applications. Methyl benzoate received a score of 1 (out of 10) in a rabbit corneal necrosis test, indicating that it causes minimal eye injury. In an Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium (TA97, TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA 1537), methyl benzoate (6666 ug/plate) was not mutagenic with or without metabolic activation.

Methyl benzoate was detected, but not quantified, in ground and whole grains of Musty Sorghum(1) and in the volatiles of pineapple essence(2). Methyl benzoate was detected at a concentration of 39 ug/kg in Lonicera japonica flowers 12 hours after opening; samples collected in May and June 1993 at locations in Lane and Bosewell OK (3). Methyl benzoate was not detected in the fresh Lonicera japonica flowers and not detected in the flowers 24 hours after opening(3).

Methyl benzoate detections in plants(1).[Table#5339]

In a comprehensive survey of wastewater from 4000 industrial and publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) sponsored by the Effluent Guidelines Division of the U.S. EPA, methyl benzoate was identified in discharges of the following industrial category (positive occurrences, median concn in ppb): nonferrous metals (1; 51.0), organics and plastics (2; 407.4), inorganic chemicals (1; 6.0), textile mills (1; 17.1), plastics and synthetics (2; 5727.5), rubber processing (2; 164.8), pharmaceuticals (1; 286.6), electronics (1; 142.1), organic chemicals (2; 953.1), publicly owned treatment works (2; 10.2). The highest effluent concn was 11,444 ppb in the plastics and synthetics industry(1).

Methyl benzoate was identified in the raw effluent of a polyester textile finishing plant(1). Methyl benzoate was present in the effluent of stack emissions from Ames power plant in Iowa, a coal-burning power plant, monitored for 4 years starting in 1977(2). Methyl benzoate was detected in effluent concentrates from the advanced treatment plant in Lake Tahoe, CA, but not in that of five other communities(3). Methyl benzoate was detected in the emissions of a municipal incineration plant at 0.12 ug/cu m, the location and date were not reported(4). The compound is a by-product of ozonolysis of a surface water source(5) and may be released during purification of water. Methyl benzoate may be released in stack emissions of coal burning plants(6).

The adsorption of methyl benzoate was determined by a modified version of the OECD guideline 106, a batch equilibrium method, in three soils with different characteristics: an acid forest soil (Podzol), an agricultural soil (Alfisol), and a sediment. The respective Freundlich constants, Kf (1/n), for the three soils were 8.64 (0.81), 1.29 (0.85), and 1.51 (0.84)(1). Koc values for the Podzol, Alfisol and sediment were 178, 103, and 95, respectively(1). Methyl benzoate also has a reported log Koc value of 2.10 (Koc = 126)(2). Using a structure estimation method based on molecular connectivity indices(3), the Koc of methyl benzoate can be estimated to be 70(SRC). According to a classification scheme(3), methyl benzoate is expected to have moderate to high mobility in soil.

SOURCE DOMINATED: Methyl benzoate was detected but not quantified in ambient air and source air samples collected from Thane Belapur Industrial Area in Mumbai, India, which has various petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical, engineering, plastics industries with working facilities. Samples were taken at 16 locations during summer, monsoon, and winter seasons of 2004(1).

Methyl benzoate is a food additive permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption as a synthetic flavoring substance and adjuvant in accordance with the following conditions: a) they are used in the minimum quantity required to produce their intended effect, and otherwise in accordance with all the principles of good manufacturing practice, and b) they consist of one or more of the following, used alone or in combination with flavoring substances and adjuvants generally recognized as safe in food, prior-sanctioned for such use, or regulated by an appropriate section in this part.