Re: Add Propylene Glycol to your list

Thats good to know!! Thanks.

I searched google and found these bits of info -

USE
"Propylene oxide is used primarily as a chemical intermediate in the production of polyurethane polyols (60% to 65%), propylene glycols (20% to 25%), glycol ethers (3% to 5%),and specialty chemicals. Polyurethane polyols are used to make polyurethane foams; whereas, propylene glycols are primarily used to make unsaturated polyester resins for the textile and construction industries. Propylene glycols are also used in drugs, cosmetics, solvents and emollients in food, plasticizers, heat transfer and hydraulic fluids, and antifreezes. In addition, propylene oxide may be used in fumigation chambers for the sterilization of packaged foods and as a pesticide (IARC 1994, HSDB 2001)."

J - note - that does not sound like good food to me!!

2] "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified propylene glycol as an additive that is "generally recognized as safe" for use in food. It is used to absorb extra water and maintain moisture in certain medicines, cosmetics, or food products. It is a solvent for food colors and flavors.
Propylene glycol is also used to create artificial smoke or fog used in fire-fighting training and in theatrical productions"

"How might I be exposed to ethylene glycol and propylene glycol?
You can be exposed to ethylene glycol when you use antifreeze, photographic developing solutions, coolants, and brake fluid.

You can be exposed to propylene glycol by eating food products, using cosmetics, or taking medicine that contains it.

If you work in an industry that uses ethylene glycol or propylene glycol, you could be exposed by breathing or touching these substances.

How can ethylene glycol and propylene glycol affect my health?
Eating or drinking very large amounts of ethylene glycol can result in death, while large amounts can result in nausea, convulsions, slurred speech, disorientation, and heart and kidney problems.
Female animals that ate large amounts of ethylene glycol had babies with birth defects, while male animals had reduced sperm counts. However, these effects were seen at very high levels and would not be expected in people exposed to lower levels at hazardous waste sites.
Ethylene glycol affects the body's chemistry by increasing the amount of acid, resulting in metabolic problems. Similar to ethylene glycol, propylene glycol increases the amount of acid in the body. However, larger amounts of propylene glycol are needed to cause this effect.


How likely are ethylene glycol and propylene glycol to cause cancer?
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the EPA have not classified ethylene glycol and propylene glycol for carcinogenicity. Studies with people who used ethylene glycol did not show carcinogenic effects. Animal studies also have not shown these chemicals to be carcinogens.


-j - so no protection for consumers, as they deny it will harm us.

3]EPA - [no nedd to read this, its just the EPA's facts:
"The main sources of information for this fact sheet are EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS):

Health Hazard Information
Acute Effects:
* Acute (short-term) exposure of humans and animals to propylene oxide has caused eye and respiratory tract irritation. As a respiratory irritant, coughing, dyspnea (difficulty in breathing), and pulmonary edema may result from inhalation exposure and possibly lead to pneumonia. Dermal contact, even with dilute solutions, has caused skin irritation and necrosis. (1-3)
* Propylene oxide is a mild central nervous system depressant. Acute exposure to high concentrations may cause headache, motor weakness, incoordination, ataxia, and coma in humans. (1,3)
* Tests involving acute exposure of animals, such as the LC50 and LD50 tests in rats, mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits, have demonstrated propylene oxide to have moderate acute toxicity from inhalation, high acute toxicity from dermal exposure, and moderate to high acute toxicity from ingestion. (4)

Chronic Effects (Noncancer):
* Health effects from chronic (long-term) exposure to propylene oxide in humans have not been reported in the literature.
* A significant decrease in body weight gain, increased mortality, and an increased incidence of inflammatory lesions of the nasal cavity, trachea, and lungs have been observed in rodents chronically exposed to propylene oxide by inhalation. (5)
* A study has indicated that chronic inhalation exposure to propylene oxide may cause some neuropathological changes in monkeys. There is also evidence of neurotoxicity in rats. (2,5)
* The RfC for propylene oxide is 0.03 mg/m3 based on nest-like infolds of the nasal respiratory epithelium in rats. (5)
* EPA has medium confidence in the study on which the RfC was based because the study used a large number of animals, examined the critical effect with sensitive techniques and at multiple durations and exposure levels, and was of chronic duration, but did not identify a no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL); medium confidence in the database because there were several corroborative chronic inhalation studies and inhalation developmental studies, although the inhalation 2-generation reproductive study was inadequate; and, consequently, medium confidence in the RfC.
* EPA has not established an RfD for propylene oxide. (5)

Reproductive/Developmental Effects:
* No information is available on the reproductive or developmental effects of propylene oxide in humans.
* A study with rats and rabbits exposed to propylene oxide by inhalation prior to and during gestation concluded that propylene oxide was harmful to the developing fetus but did not cause birth defects. In rats, some degree of fetotoxicity was observed in all exposed groups (including a significant reduction in the number of corpora lutea, implants, and live fetuses) and minor skeletal malformations in some; there was no maternal mortality. Increased resorptions per litter were observed in rabbits. (2,5)

Cancer Risk:
* Human carcinogenicity data for propylene oxide are inadequate.
* Propylene oxide has been observed to cause tumors at or near the site of administration in rodents, causing forestomach tumors following ingestion via gavage (experimentally placing the chemical in the stomach) and nasal tumors after inhalation exposure. (2,5,6)
* EPA has classified propylene oxide as a Group B2, probable human carcinogen. (5)
* EPA uses mathematical models, based on human and animal studies, to estimate the probability of a person developing cancer from breathing air containing a specified concentration of a chemical. EPA calculated an inhalation unit risk estimate of 3.7 H 10-6 (m g/m3)-1. EPA estimates that, if an individual were to breathe air containing propylene oxide at 0.3 m g/m3* over his or her entire lifetime, that person would theoretically have no more than a one-in-a-million increased chance of developing cancer as a direct result of breathing air containing this chemical. Similarly, EPA estimates that breathing air containing 3.0 m g/m3 would result in not greater than a one-in-a-hundred thousand increased chance of developing cancer, and air containing 30.0 m g/m3 would result in not greater than a one-in-ten thousand increased chance of developing cancer. (5)
* EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, for a hazard ranking under Section 112(g) of the Clean Air Act Amendments, has ranked propylene oxide in the nonthreshold category. The 1/ED10 value is 0.16 per (mg/kg)/d and this would place it in the medium category under Superfund's ranking for carcinogenic hazard.



Jawg - so the EPA has not checked out the health effects, thats all that says. But they do apporve of it for human consumption!!
We cannot trust our food supply. We have to decide for ourselves what is safe to eat... What is the role of govt. again?

http://www.chemchannels.com/chemchannel/newsletters/softdrink1.htm

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