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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Health advisory for 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (DNT). Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:7206434

The Health Advisory (HA) provides information on the health effects, analytical methodology and treatment technology that would be useful in dealing with 2,4- and 2,6-Dinitrotoluene contamination of drinking water. The Dinitrotoluenes are classified as Group B2, probable human carcinogens, with a potency factor of 0.68/mg/kg/day. A .000001 estimated cancer risk is associated with DNT concentrations in drinking water of 0.05 microgram/L. Health Advisories describe nonregulatory concentrations of drinking water contaminants at which adverse health effects would not be anticipated to occur over specific exposure durations. The HAs, developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water (OW), are not legally enforceable Federal standards and are subject to change as new information becomes available. Health Advisories are developed for One-day, Ten-day, Longer-term and Lifetime exposures based on data describing noncarcinogenic end points of toxicity. For those substances that are known or probable human carcinogens, according to the EPA classification scheme, Lifetime HAs are not recommended. The chemical concentration values for carcinogens are correlated with carcinogenic risk estimates by employing a cancer potency (unit risk).

Research Organization:
Dynamac Corp., Rockville, MD (United States)
OSTI ID:
7206434
Report Number(s):
PB-92-189315/XAB; CNN: EPA-68-03-3417
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English