o-TOLUIDINE CAS N°: 95-53-4 - UNEP Chemicals

OECD SIDS o-TOLUIDINE
polluted site with the o-toluidine concentration occasionally at 0.1 µg/l (= 100 ng/l) (Reifferscheid
and Grummt, 2000).
The data on surface waters in the Sponsor country show a longterm decrease in o-toluidine
concentrations, with the exception of the Elbe river where irregular significant inputs of o-toluidine
occur via its tributary Bilina in the Czech Republic.
With a limit of detection of 20 ng/l, o-toluidine could not be detected in samples of drinking water
of Jabalpur (India), river water and treated paper mill effluent (Mishra et al., 2001).
Air/Tobacco smoke
o-Toluidine occurs in tocacco leaves (Irvine and Saxby, 1969) and tobacco smoke (Pailer, Huebsch
and Kuhn, 1966; Neurath, 1969; Schmeltz and Hoffmann, 1977). In cigarette smoke, the o-toluidine
content is reported to be 32 ng/cigarette (NTP, 2003). Apparently using higher o-toluidine contents
in tobacco smoke, Talaska (2003) calculates that the daily uptake of o-toluidine (25 cigarettes/d) is
about 3.6 µg/d by smokers in the USA.
Far higher levels of o-toluidine were measured by Luceri et al. (1993). Both the main stream smoke
of cigarettes, (which is inhaled by the smoker) and the side stream smoke of cigarettes (which is
also inhaled by the non-smoker) contain significant amounts of all toluidine isomers and other
aromatic amines. Depending on the brand, the o-toluidine content is 30 - 208 ng/cigarette in the
main-stream smoke, and 10 - 100 times more in the side-stream smoke (2 - 4 µg/cigarette). These
authors also examined several aromatic amines as tracers of cigarette smoke in ambient air and
found a strong correlation of o-toluidine (and other aromatic amines) levels in indoor air with the
smoking status of the inhabitants (Table 10). Thus, the ubiquitous distribution of these aromatic
amines in all indoor air samples was attributed to tobacco smoke. No information is given on the
sampling location of outdoor air (Luceri et al. 1993).
Table 9 Concentrations of o-toluidine in air from several sources (Luceri et al., 1993)
Air source o-Toluidine concentration
(ng/m 3 )
Outdoors 2.5
Apartment of a non-smoker 5.1
Office of a non-smoker with smokers in contiguous room 6.3
Office of a non-smoker with smokers in contiguous room after
overnight ventilation
Office with 1 smoker 5.4
Office with 2 smokers 12.8
Club room 16.9
Non-smoking train compartment 6.5
Hair-dresser saloon 10.4
These observations were confirmed by an examination of 10 aromatic amines in air in several
Italian sites. Compared to the most heavily polluted outdoor air of the sampling locations examined
(air of the centre of Brindisi), the o-toluidine concentration was tripled in indoor air from a smokers
room (Palmiotto et al., 2001).
UNEP PUBLICATIONS 19
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