Synonyms: 3-Butene-2-one; Acetyl ethylene; Butenone; MVK; Methylene acetone

OSHA IMIS Code Number: M351

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number: 78-94-4

NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS) Identification Number: EM9800000

Chemical Description and Physical Properties:

colorless to yellow liquid with pungent odor
molecular weight: 70.10
vapor pressure: 11 kPa @ 25°C
molecular formula: C₄H₆O
boiling point: 81°C
melting point: -7°C

Incompatibilities: Highly flammable; vapor/air mixtures are explosive

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV): 0.2 ppm Ceiling; Skin; Sensitizer

Potential Symptoms: Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation; cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, labored breathing, pulmonary edema; headache, dizziness, fainting, tremor, incoordination, lowered body temperature, depressed respiratory and heart rates; nausea, vomiting; eye lacrimation, redness, pain, severe deep burns; INGES ACUTE: Burning sensation, abdominal pain; shock or collapse; SKIN ABS.: blistering of skin (by contact with liquid or high concentration of vapor); skin sensitization (with repeated or prolonged contact)

Health Effects: Irritation-Eyes, Nose, Throat, Skin---Marked (HE14); CNS Depressant (HE8)

Affected Organs: Eyes, skin, respiratory system, CNS

Notes:

1. OSHA does not have a PEL for methyl vinyl ketone.
2. Vapor/air mixtures are explosive.
3. Two-week inhalational toxicology studies in rodents indicated NOAELs for lung effects in rats and mice of 2 ppm and 4 ppm, respectively, although nasal cavity lesions were observed in both species at 1 ppm. A single 6-hour exposure in rats of 8 ppm caused 100% mortality from airway necrosis, indicating a steep dose-response relationship.
4. Toxicity to respiratory and other cells may be due to a high non-enzymatic reactivity with reduced glutathione (GSH) or SH groups in proteins, although a less rapid reaction with deoxyguanosine and its 5'-monophosphate in vitro also has been reported.

Literature Basis:

• International Chemical Safety Cards (WHO/IPCS/ILO): Methyl vinyl ketone.
• NIOSH: The Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances: 3-Butene-2-one (RTECS #: EM9800000).
• Eder, E., Hoffman, C. and Deininger, C.: Identification and characterization of deoxyguanosine adducts of methyl vinyl ketone and ethyl vinyl ketone. Genotoxicity of the ketones in the SOS Chromotest. Chem. Res. Toxicol. 4(1): 50-57, 1991.
• Esterbauer, H., Zollner, H. and Scholz, N.: Reaction of glutathione with conjugated carbonyls. Z. Naturforsch. [C] 30(4): 466-473, 1975.
• Morgan, D.L., et al.: Upper respiratory tract toxicity of inhaled methylvinyl ketone in F344 rats and B6C3F-1 mice. Toxicol. Sci. 58(1): 182-194, 2000.
• Pohanish, R.P. (editor): Methyl Vinyl Ketone. In, Sittig's Handbook of Toxic and Hazardous Chemicals and Carcinogens, Fourth Ed., Vol. 2. Norwich, NY: Noyes Publications, William Andrew Publishing, 2002, pp. 1614-1616.
• Portoghese, P.S., Kedziora, G.S., Larson, D.L., Bernard, B.K. and Hall, R.L.: Reactivity of glutathione with a,ß-unsaturated ketone flavoring substances. Food Chem. Toxicol. 27(12): 773-776, 1989.

Date Last Revised: 02/23/2005

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