Description
1,1,2-Trichloroethane is a colourless liquid solvent with a sweet odour. It is nonflammable and mostly insoluble in water. It is a liquid at room temperature, but some will evaporate giving a sweet ether like odour.
Substance details
Substance name: 1,1,2-Trichloroethane
CASR number: 79-00-5
Molecular formula: C2H3Cl3
Synonyms: Vinyl trichloride; beta-trichloride; 1,2,2-Trichloroethane; ethane trichloride.
Physical properties
Melting Point: -36.5°C
Boiling Point: 113.8°C
Specific Gravity: 1.4416
Vapour Density: 1.067
Chemical properties
1,1,2-Trichloroethane is a colourless liquid solvent with a sweet odour. It is nonflammable and mostly insoluble in water. It is a liquid at room temperature, but some will evaporate giving a sweet ether like odour.
Further information
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) holds data for all sources of 1,1,2-Trichloroethane in Australia.
Description
1,1,2-Trichloroethane is a potent central nervous system depressant. In high concentrations, in air, with closed or poorly ventilated areas, single exposures to 1,1,2-Trichloroethane may cause central nervous system effects leading to dizziness, headache, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, difficulty in speaking or walking, and possibly unconsciousness, coma and death. It is a narcotic at high levels. Exposures to vapour concentrations near 2,000 parts per million for five minutes cause central nervous system depression and the effect of being anaesthetised. Adverse liver and kidney effects have are possible from high exposures or from long term exposure to 1,1,2-Trichloroethane. It will also defat the skin causing irritation and dryness. Other effects may include headache, tremor, dizziness, and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat.
Entering the body
1,1,2-Trichloroethane can enter the body when a person breathes air containing it, or if a person drinks water that has been contaminated with the compound. It will also pass through the skin.
Exposure
Workers in the industries that use or produce 1,1,2-Trichloroethane are at risk of exposure. Consumers can be exposed to 1,1,2-Trichloroethane by exposure to air from production and processing facilities using 1,1,2-Trichloroethane.
Workplace exposure standards
Safe Work Australia sets the workplace exposure standard for 1,1,2-trichloroethane through the workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants:
- Maximum eight hour time weighted average (TWA): 10 parts per million (55 mg/m3)
These standards are only appropriate for use in workplaces and are not limited to any specific industry or operation. Make sure you understand how to interpret the standards before you use them.
Drinking water guidelines
There is no guideline for 1,1,2-trichloroethane in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.
Description
1,1,2-Trichloroethane will exist as a gas if released to the atmosphere. It dissolves only slightly when mixed with water. It also evaporates from soil and water when they are exposed to the air. In the air when it reacts into other chemicals, it takes a long time. It has moderate acute (short-term) toxicity on aquatic life. It has moderate chronic (long-term) toxicity to aquatic life. Chronic and acute effects on plants, birds or land animals have not been determined. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane does not bioaccumulate.
Entering the environment
Industrial emissions of 1,1,2-Trichloroethane can produce elevated concentrations in the atmosphere around the source. Since it takes a long time to breakdown in the air it is likely to spread far from where it is used. Most of the releases are to the air, releases to the soil and water quickly evaporate to the air. Since it does not bind to soil well, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane that makes its way into the ground, and does not evaporate may move through the ground and enter groundwater.
Where it ends up
1,1,2-Trichloroethane enters the air during production, use and transporting it. In the air it will break down into other chemicals in a few months (50% may be gone in 50 days). 1,1,2-Trichloroethane and its products of degradation contribute to photochemical smog. Although most of the 1,1,2-Trichloroethane released is to the air, when released to the soil it will either evaporate or leach into the ground water. It will also quickly evaporate if released to surface water. In the soil and water bacteria will break it down, if at all, very slowly. In the soil and subsurface water it may last for months to years.
Environmental guidelines
No national guidelines.
Industry sources
The primary sources of 1,1,2-Trichloroethane emissions are the industries that manufacture it or use it in production. Some of the industries that use it in production are the chemical industry, rubber manufacturers, heavy equipment manufacturing, the timber products industry, the plastics and synthetics industries and laundries. These are emissions to the air unless there is a spill.
Diffuse sources, and industry sources included in diffuse emissions data
Other possible emitters of 1,1,2-Trichloroethane are the electronics industry (solvent use) and manufacturers of fabricated metal parts.
Natural sources
1,1,2-Trichloroethane does not occur naturally in the environment.
Transport sources
No mobile sources.
Consumer products
Aerosol paint concentrates.
Sources used in preparing this information
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- Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) (1992), Australian Water Quality Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Waters.
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- US Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, (December, 1998), Consumer Fact Sheet on: 1,1,2-Trichloroethane (accessed, May, 1999)
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- National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (2011) - Updated October 2017, accessed May 2018.