Toxicity Profiles

RAGs A Format for Anthracene - CAS Number 120127

Anthracene, also referred to as paranaphthalene or green oil, is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). Anthracene is derived from coal tar and is primarily used as an intermediate in the production of dyes. It has also been used in the production of smoke screens, scintillation counter crystals, and organic semiconductor research. Anthracene is ubiquitous in the environment as a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Anthracene is the simplest tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Anthracene is a colorless crystalline compound. It is soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including ethanol, methanol, benzene, toluene, and carbon disulfide, but is almost insoluble in water. It has been identified in surface and drinking water, ambient air, exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines, smoke of cigarettes and cigars, and in smoked foods and edible aquatic organisms. Anthracene is one of a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on EPA's priority pollutant list. Although a large body of literature exists on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of other PAHs, toxicity data for anthracene are limited.

Information on the toxicity of anthracene exposure in humans is very limited. Evidence indicates that anthracene is absorbed following oral and dermal exposure. Targets for anthracene toxicity are the skin, hematopoietic system, lymphoid system, and gastrointestinal tract. Adverse dermatologic effects have been observed in humans and animals in conjunction with acute and subchronic exposure to anthracene. In humans, anthracene may cause acute dermatitis with symptoms of burning, itching, and edema. Prolonged dermal exposure produces pigmentation, cornification of skin surface layers, and telangiectasis. Anthracene is photosensitizing, potentiating skin damage elicited by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Hematologic toxicity was observed in patients receiving intraperitoneal injections of anthracene-containing chemotherapeutic agents and in rats exposed to anthracene by oral gavage and by inhalation. Mice receiving subcutaneous injections of anthracene exhibited adverse lymphoid effects. Long-term use of anthracene-containing laxatives produced melanosis of the colon and rectum. Human exposure to anthracene has also been associated with headache, nausea, loss of appetite, inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, slow reactions, and weakness.

Based on no human data and inadequate data from animal bioassays, U.S. EPA has placed anthracene in weight-of-evidence group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity.

The following is a presentation of the toxicity information associated with Anthracene:

• The Oral Chronic Reference Dose is 3.00E-01 (mg/kg-day).
• The Oral Chronic Reference Dose has a modifying factor of 1.
• The Oral Chronic Reference Dose has an uncertainty factor of 3000.
• The Oral Chronic Reference Dose is based on the U.S. EPA study from 1989.
• The overall confidence in the Oral Chronic Reference Dose is low.

• The Dermal Chronic Reference Dose is 2.28E-01 (mg/kg-day).
• The Dermal Chronic Reference Dose is based on a gastrointestinal absorption factor of 0.7600.