Toxicity Profiles

RAGs A Format for Phenanthrene - CAS Number 85018

Phenanthrene, also known as phenanthrin, is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with three aromatic carbon rings. It exists as a colorless crystalline solid that occurs in fossil fuels and is present in products of incomplete combustion. Some of the known sources of phenanthrene in the atmosphere are vehicular emissions, coal and oil burning, wood combustion, coke plants, aluminum plants, iron and steel works, foundries, municipal incinerators, synfuel plants, and oil shale plants. According to U.S. EPA, there is no current commercial production of phenanthrene in the United States. Phenanthrene can be used in the manufacture of dyestuffs, explosives, drugs, in the synthesis of other chemicals, and in biochemical research. A derivative of phenanthrene has been used as a starting material for synthesizing bile acids, cholesterol, and other steroids.

Phenanthrene is absorbed following oral and dermal exposure. Data from structurally related PAHs suggest that phenanthrene would be absorbed from the lungs. Although a large body of literature exists on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of other PAHs, toxicity data for phenanthrene are very limited. No human data were available that addressed the toxicity of phenanthrene. Phenanthrene produced slight liver toxicity in rats.

No inhalation bioassays were available to assess the carcinogenicity of phenanthrene in humans. Many animal studies failed to increase tumor incidence. However, phenanthrene was found to be an active tumor initiator in one mouse study. Based on no human data and inadequate data from animal bioassays, U.S. EPA has placed phenanthrene in weight-of-evidence group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity.