toluene - National Park Service

Toluene (Methylbenzene, CAS number 108-88-3)
Brief Introduction:
Br.Class: General Introduction and Classification Information:
Toluene is a priority pollutant [446], and a volatile
organic compound (VOC) [868,903]. It belongs to a class
of chemicals known as the monoaromatic hydrocarbons
[902]. Like ethylbenzene and xylenes, toluene is an
alkyl benzene. It is different from benzene in having
one methyl group added to (substituted for a hydrogen) on
the benzene ring.
Toluene is an organic solvent that is widely used,
especially in the paint, printing, and adhesive
industries; toluene is also abused by "recreational"
inhalation [370]. Toluene is also used as a gasoline
additive [609].
Toluene can be released to soil through petroleum spills
and from leaking underground storage tanks [866].
Toluene can be released into water through chemical
spills and spills of petroleum products and from
discharges of industrial and municipal effluents [866].
Estimates for the United States indicate that gasoline
and oil spills account for about 90% of all toluene
releases into water [866]. It also has been estimated
that in the U.S. in 1978, 99.8% of all toluene releases
were directly to the atmosphere, 0.11% to water, and 0.1%
to land [866].
According to the USCG Emergency Response Notification
System (1993), toluene was one of the top most spilled
non-petroleum chemicals in U.S. waters by number of
notifications and volume [635].
EPA reported in 1991 that toluene was found in well
water, surface water, or soil at 63% of the hazardous
waste sites surveyed [904].
A frequent contaminant in Toxic Release inventory lists
for various states. From Greenwire May 21, 1997 --- Vol.
7 --- No. 15: The three most widely released chemicals
in the USA Toxics Release Inventory for 1995 were
methanol, ammonia and toluene (internet at
http://www.epa.gov/oppintr/tri/).
Br.Haz: General Hazard/Toxicity Summary:
This compound often occurs together with other aromatics