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Publication of NEG and NIOSH Basis for an Occupational
Health Standard: Propylene Glycol Ethers and Their Acetates
CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH) has recently released NEG and NIOSH Basis for an
Occupational Health Standard: Propylene Glycol Ethers and Their
Acetates * (1). This document was developed as the result of an
agreement between NIOSH and the Nordic Expert Group for
Documentation of Occupational Exposure Limits (NEG) to exchange
occupational safety and health information and expertise.
The document provides background information on occupational
exposure limits. It includes results of a literature survey for
five propylene glycol monoalkyl ethers: propylene glycol monomethyl
ether (PGME), propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA),
their beta isomers, and dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether
(DPGME).
Propylene glycol ethers are used industrially as solvents for
paints, lacquers, resins, oils, and fats. DPGME is often used in
cosmetics. Approximately 329,000 workers are potentially exposed to
PGME in the United States. Approximately 306,000 workers are
potentially exposed to PGMEA, and 184,000 to DPGME (CDC, National
Occupational Exposure Survey, 1981-1983). The use of propylene
glycol ethers appears to have increased considerably from 1985 to
1989. One reason for the increase is probably the replacement of
ethylene glycol ethers by propylene glycol ethers because of the
reproductive toxicity associated with the former group of solvents
(2).
References
NIOSH. NEG and NIOSH basis for an occupational health standard:
propylene glycol ethers and their acetates. Cincinnati: US
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,
CDC, 1991;DHHS publication no. (NIOSH)91-103.
NIOSH. Criteria for a recommended standard: occupational
exposure to ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol
monoethyl ether, and their acetates. Cincinnati: US Department of
Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC, 1991;DHHS
publication no. (NIOSH)91-119.
Single copies of this document are available without charge from
the Information Dissemination Section, Division of Standards
Development and Technology Transfer, NIOSH, 4676 Columbia Parkway,
Cincinnati, OH 45226, telephone: (513) 533-8287.
Disclaimer
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