Chronic inhalation exposure of rats to nitromethane

Male and female Long-Evans rats were housed in inhalation chambers and exposed to vapors of nitromethane (NM) at either 100 or 200 ppm. The animals were exposed 7 hr per day, 5 days per week for 2 years. Control groups of rats were also housed in a similar inhalation chamber, but NM was not introduced into the chamber. The animals were observed daily for signs of pharmacologic or toxicologic effect and body weights were recorded periodically. At the 2-year termination of the exposure period, clinical laboratory examinations (serum chemistry and hematology) were performed on selected animals and all surviving animals were sacrificed. All animals were necropsied and subjected to a thorough histopathologic examination. During the study there were no pharmacologic effects from exposure to NM at either 100 or 200 ppm. There was no effect on mortality on either sex at either exposure level. Body weights of male rats exposed to NM were not significantly different from those of control rats, but the body weights of female rats of both exposure groups were slightly less than their controls. There was no effect of exposure of rats of either sex to either level of NM on hematology. There were no clinically significant effects on serum chemistry. There were no effects of exposure to NM on organ weights. There were no significant differences in the nonneoplastic or neoplastic pathology related to exposure to NM.