Chrysene Cas No. 218-01-9

Chrysene

Cas No. 218-01-9

Potential sources and exposure

Chrysene is a (PAH). The reader is referred to the general profile on PAHs

for exposure information.

Physical and chemical properties

Property

Value

Molecular weight

228.3 g/mol

1.8 10-3 mg/l at 25 oC

Water solubility

6.3 10-9 mm Hg at 25 oC

Vapor pressure

2.0 105 ml/g

Koc

log Kow

5.61

1.05 10-6 atm-m3/mol

Henry's Law Constant

Toxicity

Although there are no human data that specifically link exposure to chrysene

to human cancers, chrysene is a component of mixtures that have been associated

with human cancers. These include coal tar, soots, coke oven emissions, and

cigarette smoke (IARC 1983). USEPA has classified chrysene as a Group B2, or

probable human carcinogen, on the basis of evidence of carcinogenicity from

mouse skin painting and intraperitoneal chrysene injections in male mice which

caused an increased incidence of liver tumors. In mouse skin painting assays,

chrysene tested positive in both initiation and complete carcinogen studies. The

relative tumorigenic potency of chrysene was compared with the potencies of

five other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mouse skin painting assays tested

using similar protocols (USEPA 1984). The ranking was as follows:

benzo(a)pyrene > dibenz(a,h)anthracene > benzo(b)fluoranthene >

benz(a)anthracene > indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene > chrysene.

There is limited evidence that chrysene is mutagenic in short-term assays

(IARC 1983). There are no experimental data on the teratogenicity of chrysene

in mammals. There is no information on the potential effects of chrysene on

other endpoints of toxicity.

It was estimated that chrysene had a relative potency to B(a)P of

approximately 0.0044. This number can be used in the relative potency method

to estimate a cancer potency factor.

D28

Appendix D Toxicological Profiles