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Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3 (1999)

Chapter: Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
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Appendix B
Vat Yellow 4

BACKGROUND

AN ALTERNATIVE name for vat yellow 4 is dibenzochrysenedione (DBC). Vat yellow 4 is a component of the old yellow-and green-dye mixtures.

TOXICOKINETICS

No studies have been conducted on the toxicokinetics of vat yellow 4.

TOXICITY SUMMARY

Effects in Humans

There have been no reports of humans exposed either accidentally or in controlled laboratory environments to vat yellow 4.

Effects in Animals

ONE-TIME EXPOSURE

A commercial report (Charm 1976, as cited in Dacre et al. 1979) describing acute oral and dermal toxicity tests with a vat yellow 4 paste formu-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
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lation (unspecified concentration) indicated low acute oral and dermal toxicity in rats and rabbits. The oral lethal dose for 50% of the test animals (LD50) for this paste in rats was greater than 46 grams per kilogram (g/kg) of body weight. The minimal oral LD50 in rabbits was 11.6 g/kg of body weight. Application of the paste to intact and abraded skin of rabbits produced no grossly discernible skin damage, and the acute dermal LD50 for rabbits was greater than 4.6 g/kg of body weight. Instillation of the paste into the eyes of rabbits produced minimal reversible ocular irritation.

CARCINOGENICITYAND MUTAGENICITY

Subcutaneous injection or painting of the skin of mice with vat yellow 4 for prolonged periods did not produce tumors (Kleinenberg 1939, as cited in Dacre et al. 1979). Another report of similar studies in mice indicated high mortality but no tumors in the mice (Shubik and Hartwell 1957, as cited in Dacre et al. 1979). Concentrations of vat yellow 4 used in the study were not reported by Dacre et al. (1979).

Epler (1979) reported that vat yellow 4 was positive in the Ames mutagenicity assay. However, Zeiger et al. (1987) and Sigman et al. (1985) report vat yellow 4 to be negative in the same assay. Harrington-Brock et al. (1991) report vat yellow 4 to be positive only with activation in the thymidine kinase locus and micronuclei assays in mouse lymphoma cells.

A standard cancer bioassay was conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI 1979) on a commercial product reported by the manufacturer to contain 18.2% vat yellow 4, 30.8% sorbitol, 5.5% dispersant (Lomar TWC), 2.7% glycerin, and 42.8% water. The test was negative for male and female rats administered vat yellow 4 at 3,500 or 7,000 parts per million (ppm) in the diet and female mice administered 12,500 or 25,000 ppm in diet but caused an increased incidence of lymphomas in male mice fed 50,000 ppm. Because the study was done on the mixture, the contribution of vat yellow 4 to the carcinogenicity is uncertain (Ashby and Tennant 1988).

SUBCOMMITTEE EVALUATION OF DYE TOXICITY

The carcinogenic potential of vat yellow 4 is uncertain, and animal studies indicate a low toxicity via oral or dermal routes of exposure. The

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
×

toxicity of inhaled vat yellow 4 is unknown and should be investigated if the compound is to be used in colored smokes.

REFERENCES

Ashby, J., and R.W. Tennant. 1988. Chemical structure, Salmonella mutagenicity and extent of carcinogenicity as indicators of genotoxic carcinogenesis among 222 chemicals tested in rodents by the U.S. NCI/NTP. Mutat Res. 204(1):17-115.


Charm, J.B. 1976. Letter from J.B. Charm, Allied Chemical Corp., Morristown, NJ, to Cpt. R.N. Shiotsuka, USAMBRDL. Nov. 8.


Dacre, J.C., W.D. Burrows, C.W.R. Wade, A.F. Hegyeli, T.A. Miller, D.R. Cogley. 1979. Problem Definition Studies on Potential Environmental Pollutants. V. Physical, Chemical, Toxicological, and Biological Properties of Seven Chemicals Used in Pyrotechnic Compositions. Tech. Rep. No. 7704. AD A090631. U.S. Army Medical Bioengineering Research and Development Laboratory, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD.


Epler, J.L. 1979. U.S. Army Project Order No. 9600. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN.


Harrington-Brock, K., L. Parker, C. Doerr, M.C. Cimino, and M.M. Moore . 1991. Analysis of the genotoxicity of anthraquinone dyes in the mouse lymphoma assay. Mutagenesis 6(1):35-46.


Kleinenberg, G.E. 1939. The blastogenic effect of 3,4,8,9-dibenzopyrene and some of its derivatives. III. Studies on the 5,10-quinone of 3,4,8,9-dibenzopyrene and its indigosol. Arch. Sci. Biol. (Leningrad) 56(3):48-52.


NCI (National Cancer Institute). 1979. Bioassay of C. I. Vat Yellow 4 for Possible Carcinogenicity. Carcinogenesis Tech. Rep. 134. DHEW Publ. No. (NIH) 79-1389. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD.


Shubik, P., and J.L. Hartwell, 1957. Survey of Compounds Which Have Been Tested for Carcinogenic Activity. Public Health Service Publ. 149, 2nd Ed., Suppl. I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Sigman, C.C., P.A. Papa, M.K. Doeltz, L.R. Perry, A.M. Twhigg, and C.T. Helmes. 1985. A study of anthraquinone dyes for the selection of candidates for carcinogen bioassay. J. Environ. Sci. Health A20(4):427-484.


Zeiger, E., B. Anderson, S. Haworth, T. Lawlor, K. Mortelmans, and W. Speck. 1987. Salmonella mutagenicity tests: III. Results from the testing of 255 chemicals. Environ. Mutagen 9(Suppl 9):1-109.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
×
Page 55
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
×
Page 56
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Vat Yellow 4." National Research Council. 1999. Toxicity of Military Smokes and Obscurants: Volume 3. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/9645.
×
Page 57
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A variety of smokes and obscurants have been developed and used to screen armed forces from view, signal friendly forces, and mark positions. Smokes are produced by burning or vaporizing particular products. Obscurants are anthropogenic or naturally occurring particles suspended in the air. They block or weaken transmission of particular parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as visible and infrared radiation or microwaves. Fog, mist, and dust are examples of natural obscurants. White phosphorus and hexachloroethane smokes are examples of anthropogenic obscurants.

The U.S. Army seeks to reduce the likelihood that exposure to smokes and obscurants during training would have adverse health effects on military personnel or civilians. To protect the health of exposed individuals, the Office of the Army Surgeon General requested that the National Research Council (NRC) independently review data on the toxicity of smokes and obscurants and recommend exposure guidance levels for military personnel in training and for the general public residing or working near military-training facilities.

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