Current Intelligence Bulletin 37: Ethylene Dibromide (EDB) (Revised)

The purpose of this bulletin is to reaffirm the NIOSH 1977 recommendation that ethylene dibromide be treated as a potential occupational carcinogen in the workplace. This includes a ceiling limit of 0.13 ppm (1.0 mg/m3) as determined over any 15-minute sampling period and use of appropriate controls to reduce worker exposure. Recent animal studies involved exposure to ethylene dibromide by skin application, oral administration, and inhalation. Statistically significant increases in tumors of the respiratory tract, mammary gland, spleen, and nasal cavity were observed. Inhalation studies with rats and mice at ethylene dibromide concentrations below the current Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit of 20 ppm demonstrated a carcinogenic risk. In addition, the new animal bioassay studies reaffirm the increased toxic effects reported in 1978 when ethylene dibromide is administered with disulfiram, a widely-used drug in alcoholism control programs. This increased interaction may not necessarily be restricted to disulfiram, but may occur with similarly structured compounds such as Thiram, a fungicide and seed disinfectant.

Current Intelligence Bulletin 37: Ethylene Dibromide (EDB) (Revised)