Airborne concentrations of ethyl and methyl cyanoacrylate in the workplace

A survey was conducted of persons who manufacture, mix, bottle, and package methyl 2-cyanoacrylate (MCA) and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate (ECA). Airborne con centrations of these cyanoacrylates also were measured during waste-handlin g operations. During a 1-week period, 162 personal and area samples were co llected. About 90% of the samples were analyzed for ECA (the predominant ad hesive being manufactured at the facility), About 50% of the samples were c ollected during periods of 15 min or less, the remainder for 15 to 240 min. Some 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) samples also were collected. Sampl es were collected using Tenax(R) tubes with subsequent analysis by high-per formance liquid chromatography Most samples were collected where highest ex posure was likely (e.g., during mixing, bottling, and packaging). Peak conc entrations of exposure (duration of 15 min or less), measured during a vari ety of tasks, ranged from 0.003 to 1.5 ppm. In particular, personal mean sh ort-term airborne concentrations of ECA for the mixing operators ranged fro m 0.039 ppm to 0.650 ppm, while various 10-min to 1-hour activities were pe rformed, with a TWA concentration of 0.07 ppm. Personal short-term airborne concentrations of ECA for bottling and packaging workers (n = 60) were 0.0 40 ppm +/- 0.016 ppm (mean +/- standard deviation), with similar 8-hour TWA concentrations due to the continuous nature of bottling and packaging. Oth er personal samples were not significantly different. The area samples were normally within a factor of 2 of the peak personal sampling results. These data indicate that, when handled at room temperature and relative humidity ranging from 40-69%, both MCA and ECA produce airborne concentrations that are nearly always less than about 0.1 ppm, which is less than the threshol d of irritation.