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U i it may be appropriate to prevent exposure during pregnancy GENETIC TOXICITY 1 CARCINOGENICITY Xylene was not genotoxic in several mutagenicity testing assays including the Ames test In a cancer study sponsored by the National Toxicology Program (NTP),technical grade xylene gave no evidence of carcinogenicity in rats or mice dosed daily for two years HEARING Mixed xylenes have been shown to cause measurable hearing loss in rats exposed to 800 ppm in the air for 14 hours per day for six weeks Exposure to 1450 ppm xylene for 8 hours caused hearing loss while exposure to 1700 ppm for 4 hours did not Although no information is available for lower concentrations, other chemicals that cause hearing loss in rats at relatively high concentrations do not cause hearing loss in rats at low concentrations Worker exposure to xylenes at the permissible exposure limit(100 ppm,time-weighted average) is not expected to cause hearing loss This product contains ETHYLBENZENE BIRTH DEFECTS AND REPRODUCTION Ethylbenzene is not expected to cause birth defects or other developmental effects based on well-conducted studies in rabbits and rats sponsored by NIOSH Other studies in rats and mice,which reported urinary tract malformations, have many deficiencies and have limited usefulness in evaluating human risk Reproductive effects are not expected based on a N IOSH study of fertility, and lack of effects observed for sperm counts and motility,estrous cycle and pathology of reproductive organs following repeated exposures HEARING Ethylbenzene caused probable hearing loss in rats exposed to 400 ppm for 8 hr/day for 5 days based on increases in auditory thresholds and loss of inner ear hair cells At 300 ppm, there was loss of inner ear hair cells without any effect on auditory thresholds There is no evidence of hearing loss in people GENETIC TOXICITY Ethylbenzene tested negative in the bacterial mutation test, Chinese Hamster Ovary(CHO) cell in vitro assay, sister chromatid exchange assay and an unscheduled DNA synthesis assay Conflicting results have been reported for the mouse lymphoma cell assay Increased micronuclei were reported in an in vitro Syrian hamster embryo cell assay, however,two in vivo micronuclei studies in mice were negative In Syrian hamster embryo cells in vitro,cell transformation was observed at 7 days of incubation but not at 24 hours Based on these results, ethylbenzene is not expected to be mutagenic or clastogenic CARCINOGENICITY In studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program, rats and mice were exposed to ethylbenzene at 25, 250 and 750 ppm for six hours per day,five days per week for 103 weeks In rats exposed to 750 ppm,the incidence of kidney tubule hyperplasia and tumors was increased Testicular tumors develop spontaneously in nearly all rats if allowed to complete their natural life span, in this study,the development of these tumors appeared to be enhanced in male rats exposed to 750 ppm In mice,the incidences of lung tumors in males and liver tumors in females exposed to 750 ppm were increased as compared to control mice but were within the range of incidences observed historically in control mice Other liver effects were observed in male mice exposed to 250 and 750 ppm The incidences of hyperplasia were increased in the pituitary gland in female mice at 250 and 750 ppm and in the thyroid in male and female mice at 750 ppm SECTION 12 ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION ECOTOXICITY This material is expected to be toxic to aquatic organisms The 96 hour(s) LC50 for rainbow trout ( Salmo garrdnen) is 8 2 mg/I The 96 hour(s) LC50 for bluegill sunfish ( Lepomis macrochlrus) is 13 mg/I The 96 hour(s) LC50 for fathead minnow( Prmephales promelas) is 27 mg/I ENVIRONMENTAL FATE This material is expected to be readily biodegradable More than 99% of xylene released to the environment is volatilized to the atmosphere Xylene is readily biodegradable, the rate of biodegradation varies with the source of microbial culture and whether acclimation to the substrate has been accomplished by pre-exposure to xylene SECTION 13 DISPOSAL CONSIDERATIONS Use material for its intended purpose or recycle if possible This material, if it must be discarded, may meet the criteria of a hazardous waste as defined by US EPA under RCRA(40 CFR 261)or other State and local regulations Measurement • Revision Number 1 6 of 9 MIXED XYLENES Revision Date 01/08/2003 MSDS PE0014