Toxicity Profile for Ethyl acetate (1992)

Abstract

Ethyl acetate vapour was irritating to the eyes and respiratory tract of humans and various laboratory animal species. The liquid produced irritation and damage in rabbit eyes. In man, ethyl acetate has caused skin sensitization, and repeated or prolonged application may change the skin's barrier properties. Acute oral toxicity was low in rats, mice, guinea-pigs and rabbits, acute dermal toxicity was low in rabbits, and acute inhalation toxicity was moderate to low in rodents. Single inhalation exposures produced central nervous system effects in humans and laboratory animals. Repeated inhalation caused changes in the blood chemistry of mice, rabbits and cats. Single oral or intraperitoneal administration did not damage the bone marrow chromosomes of mice or hamsters, but chromosome damage was induced in hamster cells in culture. Ethyl acetate gave no evidence of mutagenicity in an Ames bacterial assay but affected the chromosome number of a yeast.