Kelevan (HSG 2, 1987)

<HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <TITLE>Kelevan (HSG 2, 1987)</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> <A HREF="http://www.inchem.org"><IMG SRC="../../inchemhead.jpg" WIDTH="630" HEIGHT="65" BORDER="0" ALT="IPCS INCHEM Home"></A> <PRE> IPCS INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON CHEMICAL SAFETY Health and Safety Guide No. 2 KELEVAN HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANISATION WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, GENEVA 1987 This is a companion volume to Environmental Health Criteria 66: Kelevan Published by the World Health Organization for the International Programme on Chemical Safety (a collaborative programme of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization) This report contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, or the World Health Organization ISBN 924154366 3 ISSN 0259-7268 The World Health Organization welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the Office of Publications, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, which will be glad to provide the latest information on any changes made to the text, plans for new editions, and reprints and translations already available. (c) World Health Organization 1987 Publications of the World Health Organization enjoy copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. <A NAME = "PartTitle:CONTENTS"></A>CONTENTS IPCS HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDE FOR KELEVAN INTRODUCTION HOW TO USE THE GUIDE <A HREF="#PartNumber:1">1. PRODUCT IDENTITY AND USES</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:1.1">1.1. Identity</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:1.2">1.2. Physical and chemical properties</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:1.3">1.3. Composition</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:1.4">1.4. Uses</A> <A HREF="#PartNumber:2">2. SUMMARY AND EVALUATION</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:2.1">2.1. Transport and distribution</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:2.2">2.2. Effects on the environment</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:2.3">2.3. Effects on animals and microorganisms</A> <A HREF="#SectionNumber:2.4">2.4. Effects on human beings</A> <A HREF="#PartNumber:3">3. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS</A> <A HREF="#PartNumber:4">4. HEALTH HAZARDS FOR MAN, PREVENTION AND PROTECTION, EMERGENCY</A> ACTION <A HREF="#SectionNumber:4.1">4.1. Safe handling</A> <A HREF="#PartNumber:5">5. HAZARDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR PREVENTION</A> <A NAME = "EndPartTitle:CONTENTS"></A> INTRODUCTION The International Programme on Chemical Safety is responsible for the publication of a series of Environmental Health Criteria documents, each of which assesses the existing information on the relationship between exposure to a specific chemical, mixture of chemicals, or combination of chemicals and physical and biological agents, and man's health and the integrity of the environment. The documents provide guidelines for setting exposure limits consistent with the protection of human health and the environment. To facilitate the application of these guidelines in national chemical safety programmes, "Health and Safety Guides" are being prepared, highlighting the information contained in the documents for those who need to know the health and environmental issues involved, but not the scientific details. The Guides include advice on preventive and protective measures and emergency action. Review and revision of the information in this Health and Safety Guide will take place in due course, and the eventual aim is to use standardized terminology. We should be grateful if you would help by telling us of any difficulties encountered in using the information in this guide. Comments please, addressed to: The Manager International Programme on Chemical Safety Division of Environmental Health World Health Organization 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland HOW TO USE THE GUIDE All people in the work-place environment should be given the relevant written information in this book, supplemented by a clear, personal explanation to ensure that they are fully aware of the dangers and the current courses of protective and emergency action. * * * Further copies of the Health and Safety Guide and, for those requiring more detailed scientific information, the relevant Environmental Health Criteria publication, are available to order. THE INFORMATION IN THIS GUIDE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A STARTING POINT TO A COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAMME <A NAME = "PartNumber:1"></A>1. PRODUCT IDENTITY AND USES <A NAME = "SectionNumber:1.1"></A>1.1 Identity Molecular formula: C17H12Cl10O4 Chemical structure: <IMG SRC="v002hs01.gif" ALT="FIGURE 1"> Trade names: Despirol, Elevat, GC-9160, General Chemicals 9160 CAS chemical name: ethyl 1, la, 3, 3a, 4, 5, 5a, 5b, 6 decachlorooctahydro-alpha-2-hydroxy gamma-oxo-1, 3, 4-metheno-I H-cyclabuta [ cd] pentalene -2-pentanoate (9 CI) CAS registry number: <PrimaryCasNo>4234-79-1</PrimaryCasNo> <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:1.1"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:1.2"></A>1.2 Physical and Chemical Properties Kelevan is a white powder. Technical grade kelevan is a brownish substance. It is slightly soluble in water and readily soluble in most organic solvents. Some physical and chemical properties of kelevan are given in the table. Some physical and chemical properties of kelevan Physical state solid, powder Colour white Relative molecular mass 634.79 Melting point 91癈 Vapour pressure (20癈) &lt 0.0014 Pa (= &lt 10-2 mm Hg) Solubility in water (20癈) 5.5 mg/litre (readily soluble in most organic solvents) Decomposition &gt 170癈 From: Maier-Bode (1976). <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:1.2"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:1.3"></A>1.3 Composition Technical grade kelevan contains 94-98% pure kelevan, 0.1-2% chlordecone, and 0.5-4.0% inorganic salts. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:1.3"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:1.4"></A>1.4 Uses The compound has mainly been used, as a dust or wettable powder, to control the potato beetle and some other pests on bananas, beets, and corn. Reference has been made to the use of kelevan in South America and in central and southeastern Europe. Responses received from 49 countries throughout the world indicated that kelevan had never been registered for use, or used, in 33 of them. In Spain, registration expired in 1975. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the use of kelevan has been forbidden since 1982. In Hungary and the USSR, it is still registered, but no longer used. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:1.4"></A><A NAME = "EndPartNumber:1"></A><A NAME = "PartNumber:2"></A>2. SUMMARY AND EVALUATION <A NAME = "SectionNumber:2.1"></A>2.1 Transport and Distribution Kelevan is a derivative of chlordecone and can be oxidized to chlordecone. While kelevan is fairly rapidly degraded in the soil, chlordecone persists for several years. There is very little leaching of kelevan and its break-down products from the upper 10 cm of soil into lower layers and into drainage water. Crops, especially carrots, grown on treated fields contained very low levels of kelevan or its break-down products, including chlordecone. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:2.1"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:2.2"></A>2.2 Effects on the Environment No effects on the environment have been reported during the use of kelevan, and it has been shown experimentally not to be highly toxic for bees, hens, rainbow trout, or soil microflora with short-term exposures. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:2.2"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:2.3"></A>2.3 Effects on Animals and Microorganisms In experimental animals, kelevan is absorbed following ingestion, inhalation, and via the skin, and accumulates in the liver, brain, and adipose tissue. It is moderately toxic for the rat. Symptoms of poisoning include apathy, tremors, central nervous system hyper-sensitivity, and tonic-clonic convulsions. When administered orally to rats for a number of months, necrosis of the liver and kidneys was seen. No abnormalities were found in reproduction studies on mice, when low doses were given. Teratogenic effects have not been adequately evaluated. Kelevan was not mutagenic in systems using microorganisms. No carcinogenicity studies are available for kelevan, but studies on rats and mice have shown sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity for chlordecone, which is a major break-down product of kelevan. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:2.3"></A><A NAME = "SectionNumber:2.4"></A>2.4 Effects on Human Beings No data are available concerning levels of exposure to kelevan for the general population or in the work-place. No adverse health effects on human beings have been reported from exposure to kelevan. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:2.4"></A><A NAME = "EndPartNumber:2"></A><A NAME = "PartNumber:3"></A>3. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In view of the sparsity of available data, it is quite impossible, at this stage, to arrive at an informed evaluation of kelevan with regard to both its danger for workers and the possible consumer hazards from food residues. Therefore, since kelevan is converted to chlordecone in the mammalian body and in the environment, and the toxicity data available are similar to those for chlordecone, the evaluation of chlordecone should largely apply to kelevan, which, in practice, means that, unless kelevan is indispensable, it should not be used. From: Environmental Health Criteria 66: Kelevan <A NAME = "EndPartNumber:3"></A><A NAME = "PartNumber:4"></A>4. HEALTH HAZARDS FOR MAN, PREVENTION AND PROTECTION, EMERGENCY ACTION <A NAME = "SectionNumber:4.1"></A>4.1 Safe Handling In view of the conclusions, neither safe handling advice nor an International Chemical Safety Card have been prepared. <A NAME = "EndSectionNumber:4.1"></A><A NAME = "EndPartNumber:4"></A><A NAME = "PartNumber:5"></A>5. HAZARDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEIR PREVENTION The available data are too few to make an informed assessment of the likely impact of kelevan on the environment, especially on a long-term basis. <A NAME = "EndPartNumber:5"></A> </PRE> <script src="/scripts/google_analytics.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </BODY> <PRE> </PRE> <PRE> See Also: <A HREF="../../eintro/eintro/abreviat.htm">Toxicological Abbreviations</A> <A HREF="../../ehc/ehc/ehc66.htm">Kelevan (EHC 66, 1986)</A> </PRE> </HTML>

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Kelevan (HSG 2, 1987)