Summary-line: 23-Feb nick@icad.COM #immune: whiteboard markers *** EOOH *** Return-Path: Date: Sat, 23 Feb 91 17:01:23 -0500 From: nick@icad.COM (Nick Caruso) To: cnorman@ucsd.edu Subject: immune: whiteboard markers I have been meaning to send this for a while but I've been really busy. I was reading Science News recently (February 16, 1991 Vol. 139, No. 7, page 101) and I noticed a small item titled "EPA targets 17 toxics". The list described what in the EPA's estimation are the industrial pollutants which pose the greatest threat to human health. The list included methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone, which I believe are the solvents used in the whiteboard markers that Pat Wilcox was talking about. They were ninth and tenth on the list of 17, and the list was supposedly ordered by toxicity and exposure potential. I wonder if whiteboard markers are a major source of exposure, and if not, what is the major exposure mechanism for these chemicals? Are they commonly used in some industrial processes? Just for kicks, here's the list: benzene; cadmium and its compounds; carbon tetrachloride; chloroform; chromium and its compounds; cyanides; dichloromethane; lead and its compounds; mercury and its compounds; methyl ethyl ketone; methyl isobutyl ketone; nickel and its compounds; tetrachloroethylene; toluene; 1,1,1-trichloroethane; trichloroethylene; and the xylenes. --nick caruso icad inc, 201 broadway peoples republic of cambridge, MA 02139-1901 internet: nick@icad.com / UUCP: ...uunet!icad.com!nick These are my opinions and do not represent those of ICAD in any way.