Industrial hazards of plastics and synthetic elastomers : Proceedings of the International Symposium on Occupational Hazards Related to Plastics and Synthetic Elastomers, Espoo, Finland, November 22 - 27, 1982
Information contained in ten National Cancer Instituteational Toxicology Program technical reports published since 1981 relative to the carcinogenicity of amines, phenols, and diisocyanates used in the production of plastics and synthetic elastomers are summarized. The chemicals tested were 11-aminoundecanoic-acid (2432997), bisphenol-A (80057), caprolactam (105602), 2,6-dichloro-p-phenylenediamine (609201), melamine (108781), 4,4'-methylenedianiline-dihydrochloride (4764174) (MDA), 4,4'-oxydianiline (101804), phenol (108952), 2,6-toluenediamine-dihydrochloride (15481706), and 2,4-toluene-diisocyanate (26471625). These substances were introduced into Fischer-344-rats and B6C3F1-mice with food or drinking water for 103 to 106 consecutive weeks, with the exception of 2,4-toluene-diisocyanate, which was given by gavage in corn-oil 5 days a week for 105 to 106 weeks. 11-Aminoundecanoic-acid, introduced with food, proved carcinogenic at doses of 7,500 to 15,000 parts per million (ppm), with males of both species being more susceptible. Bisphenol-A, introduced with food, turned out to be an equivocal carcinogen in both species at doses of 1,000 to 10,000ppm with males being more susceptible. 2,6-Dichloro-p-phenylenediamine, introduced with food, proved carcinogenic in mice of both sexes at doses of 1,000 to 6,000ppm. Melamine, introduced with food, proved carcinogenic in males of both species at doses of 2,250 to 9,000ppm. MDA, administered with drinking water, proved carcinogenic in all animals at doses of 150 to 300ppm, with males of both species being more susceptible. 4,4'-Oxydianiline, introduced with food, proved carcinogenic in all subjects at doses of 150 to 800ppm. 2,4-Toluene-diisocyanate, given by gavage, proved carcinogenic in both rats and mice at doses of 30 to 240 milligrams per kilogram, with females being more susceptible. The remaining three chemicals tested exhibited no significant carcinogenic effects. The author recommends that melamine be studied further in order to ascertain whether or not the bladder tumors observed during these tests resulted from the bladder stones induced.
