3,4-Dimethylphenol

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.

SMALL SPILLS AND LEAKAGE: Should a spill occur while you are handling this chemical, FIRST REMOVE ALL SOURCES OF IGNITION, then you should dampen the solid spill material with 60-70% ethanol and transfer the dampened material to a suitable container. Use absorbent paper dampened with 60-70% ethanol to pick up any remaining material. Seal the absorbent paper, and any of your clothes, which may be contaminated, in a vapor-tight plastic bag for eventual disposal. Solvent wash all contaminated surfaces with 60-70% ethanol followed by washing with a soap and water solution. Do not reenter the contaminated area until the Safety Officer (or other responsible person) has verified that the area has been properly cleaned.

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

The effectiveness of anaerobic filters containing granular activated carbon in treating synthetically prepared wastewaters which contained phenols, polycyclic hydroxy compounds, monocyclic n-aromatics, polycyclic n-aromatics, and aliphatic acids was evaluated. The ability of the activated carbon to retain these compounds along with its external surface, which provides vast sheltered microbial attachment areas, renders activated carbon a very unique medium for anaerobic filter treatment of coal gasification wastewater.

Chemical Treatability of 3,4-Dimethylphenol; Concentration Process: Biological treatment; Chemical Classification: Phenols; Scale of Study: Unknown; Type of Wastewater Used: Pure compound (one solute in a solvent; Results of Study: 95.5% reduction based on chemical oxygen demand; rate of biodegradation 13.4 mg chemical oxygen demand/g hr (activated sludge process).

MINIMUM PROTECTIVE CLOTHING: If Tyvek-type disposable protective clothing is not worn during handling of this chemical, wear disposable Tyvek-type sleeves taped to your gloves.

Some data suggesting breakthrough times /for butyl rubber/ of approximately an hour or more. /Aromatic hydroxyl cmpd/

Breakthrough times /for neoprene/ greater than one hour reported by (normally) two or more testers. /Aromatic hydroxyl cmpd/

Breakthrough times /for polyvinyl alcohol/ less (usually significantly less) than one hour reported by (normally) two or more testers. /Aromatic hydroxyl cmpd/

Wear appropriate chemical protective gloves, boots and goggles.

TLm Carassius carassius (Crucian carp) 21 mg/l/24 hr /Conditions of bioassay not specified/

TLm Rutilus rutilus (roach) 16 mg/l/24 hr /Conditions of bioassay not specified/

TLm Tinca tinca (tench) 18 mg/l/24 hr /Conditions of bioassay not specified/

TLm Salvelinus (trout embryos) 7 mg/l/24 hr /Conditions of bioassay not specified/

For more Ecotoxicity Values (Complete) data for 3,4-DIMETHYLPHENOL (9 total), please visit the HSDB record page.

TERRESTRIAL FATE: Based on a classification scheme(1), an estimated Koc value of 390(SRC), determined from a log Kow of 2.23(2) and a regression-derived equation(3), indicates that 3,4-dimethylphenol is expected to have moderate mobility in soil(SRC). Volatilization of 3,4-dimethylphenol from moist soil surfaces is expected to be an important fate process(SRC) given an estimated Henry's Law constant of 1.2X10-6 atm-cu m/mole(SRC), determined from its vapor pressure of 0.036 mm Hg(4) and water solubility of 4760 mg/l(5). 3,4-Dimethylphenol is not expected to volatilize from dry soil surfaces based upon a its vapor pressure(3). 3,4-Dimethylphenol has been reported to completely biodegrade in soil in 9 days at a temperature of 19 °C(6).

AQUATIC FATE: Based on a classification scheme(1), a Koc value of 390(SRC), determined from a log Kow of 2.23(2) and a regression-derived equation(3), indicates that 3,4-dimethylphenol is expected to adsorb very little to suspended solids and sediment in water(SRC). 3,4-Dimethylphenol is expected to volatilize from water surfaces(3,SRC) based upon an estimated Henry's Law constant of 1.2X10-6 atm-cu m/mole(SRC), determined from its vapor pressure of 0.036 mm Hg(4) and water solubility of 4760 mg/l(5). Estimated volatilization half-lives for a model river and model lake are 34 days and 250 days, respectively(3,SRC). According to a classification scheme(6), an estimated BCF of 29(3,SRC), from 3,4-dimethylphenol's log Kow(2), suggests bioconcentration in aquatic organisms is low(SRC). In humic waters, degradation by the reaction with peroxy radicals should ensue with a half-life on the order of hours(7). 3,4-Dimethylphenol is not expected to undergo hydrolysis in the environment due to the lack of hydrolyzable functional groups(3). Screening studies indicate that theoretical oxygen demand reached 43% after 5 days(8,9). In addition, it has been reported that 3,4-dimethylphenol was readily degraded in St. Lawrence River water(10). Biodegradation under anaerobic conditions failed to occur after 24 days from a river sediment inoculum(11).

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: According to a model of gas/particle partitioning of semivolatile organic compounds in the atmosphere(1), 3,4-dimethylphenol, which has a vapor pressure of 0.036 mm Hg at 25 °C(2), is expected to exist solely as a vapor in the ambient atmosphere. Vapor-phase 3,4-dimethylphenol 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 4.7 hours(SRC) from its rate constant of 8.14X10-11 cu cm/molecule-sec at 25 °C(3). Atmospheric 3,4-dimethylphenol is known to be removed by rainwater(4). 3,4-Dimethylphenol has an absorption band at 274 nm (water), and a shoulder may extend over 290 nm, thus making it a candidate for direct photochemical degradation(5,6). Night-time degradation in urban areas should occur rapidly through reaction with atmospheric nitrate radicals, as rate constants for this reaction with phenolic compounds are approximately 250 times faster than with hydroxyl radicals(7,SRC).

3,4-Dimethylphenol was measured in raw waste water from a paper mill at 0.0457 mg/l in 1974, and had been observed at this site in 1972. It was not detected in the treated effluent from the plant(1). 3,4-Dimethylphenol was identified in Los Angeles County, CA effluent (1980-81) at 20 ug/l(2). Waste water from the gasification of Indian Head lignite coal in North Dakota was determined to have an approximate 3,4-dimethylphenol concn of 158 mg/l(3). 3,4-Dimethylphenol was detected in treated refinery effluent (Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 1985) at a concn of 0.02 mg/l(4). 3,4-Dimethylphenol was identified but not quantified in leachate collected from a Swedish municipal landfill in May 1990(5). 3,4-Dimethylphenol was also identified in the leachate from a sanitary landfill in Barcelona, Spain(6).

3,4-Dimethylphenol

Cardiovascular

1 x 10 ^-3 mg/kg-day

The Koc of 3,4-dimethylphenol is estimated as 390(SRC), using a log Kow of 2.23(1) and a regression-derived equation(2). According to a classification scheme(3), this estimated Koc value suggests that 3,4-dimethylphenol is expected to have moderate mobility in soil(SRC). 65.2% of 3,4-dimethylphenol was sorbed onto the high clay content, adsorption activated material Bentone 24 at pH= 7.8; 13% with Bentone 18C at pH 7.7; these values fluctuate as a function of pH(4).

URBAN/SUBURBAN: In 1984, a gas phase concn of 3,4-dimethylphenol was detected in two of seven rain events in Portland, OR, at 5.4 and 3.5 ng/cu m respectively. The amount associated with adsorption to particulate matter was <5% of the gas phase concn in every case(1). Not detected in either rural or urban air samples (detection limit = 0.05 ug/cu m)(2). SOURCE DOMINATED: Although found in gasoline and diesel motor exhaust, it was not detected in an Allegheny Mountain highway tunnel(3).

Pursuant to section 8(d) of TSCA, EPA promulgated a model Health and Safety Data Reporting Rule. The section 8(d) model rule requires manufacturers, importers, and processors of listed chemical substances and mixtures to submit to EPA copies and lists of unpublished health and safety studies. 3,4-Dimethylphenol is included on this list.

Section 8(a) of TSCA requires manufacturers of this chemical substance to report preliminary assessment information concerned with production, use, and exposure to EPA as cited in the preamble in 51 FR 41329.