Environmentalists are suing to stop the flow of 1,4-dioxane into the drinking water supply, which one local water utility found at concentrations 17 times higher than the EPA’s health advisory goal.
Toxicology
Safety
Dioxane has an LD50 of 5170 mg/kg in rats.[10] It is irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract. Exposure may cause damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys.[20] In a 1978 mortality study conducted on workers exposed to 1,4-dioxane, the observed number of deaths from cancer was not significantly different from the expected number.[21] Dioxane is classified by the National Toxicology Program as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen”.[22] It is also classified by the IARC as a Group 2B carcinogen: possibly carcinogenic to humans because it is a known carcinogen in other animals.[23] The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies dioxane as a probable human carcinogen (having observed an increased incidence of cancer in controlled animal studies, but not in epidemiological studies of workers using the compound), and a known irritant (with a no-observed-adverse-effects level of 400 milligrams per cubic meter) at concentrations significantly higher than those found in commercial products.[24] Studies with rats suggest that the greatest health risk may be associated with inhalation.[25][26][27] The State of New York has adopted a first-in-the-nation drinking water standard for 1,4-Dioxane and set the maximum contaminant level of 1 part per billion.[28]
Yeah, that’s some nasty shit. It degrades into flammable peroxides.
