Inhalation toxicology of fumed dodecanediamine

Dodecanediamine (DDDA) is used in the production of specialty polymers. Exposure to this chemical was associated with dermal sensitization in pilot-plant workers, and the possibility that the chemical could produce dermal sensitization was confirmed in a guinea pig test. This property and its dermal irritative properties demonstrate the need to limit skin contact. The possibility of exposure via inhalation also exists. Although stable under ambient conditions, DDDA is processed at elevated temperatures where it may fume, forming a carbamate after reaction with atmospheric carbon dioxide. Some of the carbamate may be converted back to the diamine after hydrolysis in tissue. The rat was used to evaluate the effects of both acute and repeated exposure following inhalation. Fumed DDDA was found to be moderately toxic following a single 4-h exposure with lethality seen at concentrations of 680 mg/m3 or higher. Rats were then exposed to concentrations of either 0 (control), 11, 34, or 98 mg fumed DDDA/m3, 6 h/day, 5 days/wk for 2 wk. Mortality was seen at the highest concentrations, along with increased lung weights. In these rats, laryngeal and tracheal lesions consisting of acute necrosis and inflammation were seen, but surviving rats given a 14-day recovery period showed almost complete recovery. Tracheal and laryngeal lesions were not seen in rats exposed to either 11 or 34 mg/m3. Degenerative and necrotizing lesions were seen in the nasal regions, primarily the respiratory mucosa, of rats in all three treatment groups. The lesions were exposure related with regard to incidence and severity, but regeneration was seen following the recovery period. No evidence of systemic toxicity was seen. The dose-response characteristics of the nasal lesions and the sensitization potential suggest that workplace control levels of 0.1 mg/m3 should be sufficient to protect workers against the untoward effects of fumed DDDA.