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International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Summaries & Evaluations

ortho-PHENYLPHENOL AND ITS SODIUM SALT

VOL.: 30 (1983) (p. 329)

ortho-Phenylphenol
CAS No.: 90-43-7
Chem. Abstr. Name: (1,1'-Biphenyl)-2-ol

Sodium ortho-phenylphenate
CAS No.: 132-27-4
Chem. Abstr. Name: (1,1'-Biphenyl)-2-ol, sodium salt

5. Summary of Data Reported and Evaluation

5.1 Experimental data

ortho-Phenylphenol was tested for carcinogenicity in mice and rats by administration in the diet. Sodium ortho-phenylphenate was tested in rats by administration in the diet. No evidence of carcinogenicity of ortho-phenylphenol was found in mice or rats, but both studies had some limitations. In rats, sodium ortho-phenyphenate is carcinogenic to the urinary tract, producing both benign and malignant tumours.

The available data were insufficient to evaluate the teratogenicity of sodium ortho-phenylphenate to experimental animals.

ortho-Phenylphenol and sodium ortho-phenylphenate have been subjected to a variety of mutagenicity tests, including those using rodents, without demonstrating any unambiguous mutagenic or DNA damaging effect. Commercial preparations have been reported to contain uncharacterized impurities capable of inducing chromosomal aberrations in cultured mammalian cells.

5.2 Human data

ortho-Phenylphenol was first made in commercial quantities in 1934, and sodium ortho-phenylphenate was introduced commercially in 1941-1943. Their production, formulation and use as fungicides and as antibacterial agents in agricultural applications and in a wide variety of industrial and household products are potential sources of exposure, both of workers and of the general population.

No data were available to evaluate the teratogenic or chromosomal effects of ortho-phenylphenol or sodium ortho-phenylphenate in humans.

No case report or epidemiological study of the carcinogenicity of ortho-phenylphenol or sodium ortho-phenylphenate alone was available to the Working Group. (See also the section 'Cancer Epidemiology of Pesticide Manufacturers, Formulators and Users', in this volume.)

5.3 Evaluation

The available data are inadequate to evaluate the carcinogenicity of ortho-phenylphenol to experimental animals. Results of the experiments in rats provide limited evidence that sodium ortho-phenylphenate is carcinogenic to experimental animals. No data on humans were available.

The available data are insufficient to evaluate the carcinogenicity of ortho-phenylphenol or sodium ortho-phenylphenate to humans.

For definition of the italicized terms, see Preamble Evaluation.

Subsequent evaluations: Suppl. 7 (1987) (p. 70: ortho-phenylphenol - Group 3; p. 392: sodium ortho-phenylphenate - Group 2B); Vol. 73 (1999)

Synonyms for ortho-Phenylphenol

Last updated: 30 September 1999 





























    See Also:
       Toxicological Abbreviations
       Phenylphenol, ortho- and its Sodium Salt  (IARC Summary & Evaluation, Volume 73, 1999)