Dominant lethal studies with the halogenated olefins vinyl chloride and vinylidene dichloride in male CD-1 mice

The mutagenic activity of vinyl chloride (VC) and vinylidene dichloride (VDC) at three exposure levels was assessed in fertile male CD-1 mice with the dominant lethal test. Each compound was assessed in a separate study. Male mice were exposed by inhalation to VC at 3000, 10,000, and 30,000 ppm and to VDC at 10, 30, and 50 ppm for 6 hr/day for 5 days. By comparison with control males exposed to air, no mutagenic effects on any maturation stage of spermatogenesis in treated males were detected. There was no significant increase in the number of postimplantational early fetal deaths as shown by the number of females with one or more early deaths or the number of early deaths/pregnancy or the number of early deaths/total implants/pregnancy. There was no evidence of pre-implantational egg losses as indicated by the total implants/pregnant female. There was also no reduction in fertility. (The reduction in fertility at 50 ppm VDC was unproven). The lack of effect was not due to the insensitivity of the system used, since both the VC and VDC study a mutagenic effect was clearly demonstrated in male mice dosed IP with the positive control compounds cyclophosphamide (CTX) and/or ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS). During dosing these animals were housed under similar exposure conditions to those animals exposed to the test substances but with a flow of air through the exposure chambers.Thus, neither VC nor VDC is mutagenic in the mouse at the stated exposure levels as measured by the dominant lethal test.