AROCLOR 1254, 1X1ML, ISO, 1000UG/ML

Chemical Properties

Light-yellow viscous liquid; approxi- mately 4.96 chlorine atoms per molecule.

Physical properties

Light yellow, viscous, oily liquid with a faint odor

Uses

Dielectric in capacitors and transformers; investment casting processes; heat exchange fluid; hydraulic fluid; no longer produced in the US

Uses

Secondary plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride; co-polymers of styrene-butadiene and chlorinated rubber to improve chemical resistance to attack. In fluorescent and high-intensity discharge ballasts manufactured prior to 1979 (U.S. EPA, 1998).
Sealing electrical bushings and terminals. Used instead of silicone oils in vacuum pumps. May have been added to automotive transmission oils to swell shrunken transmission seals in place. Ingredient in emulsifiable-type cuttings oils to increase heat resistance (Monsanto, 1960).
At a concentration of 5 to 25 wt %, increased the effective kill-life of the lindane spray up to 10 times. May have been used in chlordane and BHC insecticide formulations. In polyurethane resin adhesive adhesive containing 16 wt % PCB-1254. Also in formulations plasticized with 3 parts dioctyl phthalate and 1 part PCB-1254 to increase chemical resistance of various polyvinyl chloride (Monsanto, 1960.)

Definition

ChEBI: A mixture of polychlorobiphenyls of unspecified composition, containing 54% chlorine (X = Cl or H).

Hazard

Toxic, carcinogen.

Health Hazard

Chlorodiphenyl, 54% chlorine (Arochlor 1254) , a polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB, is an irritant of the eyes and mucous membranes. It is toxic to the liver of animals, and severe exposure may produce a similar effect in humans. It also causes an acneform dermatitis (chloracne). It is a liver carcinogen in animals.

Safety Profile

Confirmed carcinogen with experimental carcinogenic and neoplastigenic data. Poison by intravenous route. Moderately toxic by ingestion and intraperitoneal routes. Experimental teratogenic and reproductive effects. Mutation data reported. When heated to decomposition it emits toxic fumes of Cl-. Used in heat transfer, hydraulic fluids, lubricants, and insecticides. See also POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS.

Environmental Fate

Biological. A strain of Alcaligenes eutrophus degraded 35% of the congeners by dechlorination under anaerobic conditions (Bedard et al., 1987). Indigenous microbes in the Center Hill Reservoir, TN oxidized 2-chlorobiphenyl (a congener present in trace quantities) into chlorobenzoic acid and chlorobenzoylformic acid. Biooxidation of the PCB mixture containing 54 wt % chlorine was not observed (Shiaris and Sayler, 1982).
Soil. In two California soils (foc = 0.3 and 11.3%), 95% of the applied amount was recovered after 1 yr with no change in the congener composition. In the four remaining soils containing less organic carbon (0.06 to 1.9%), degradation resulted in preferential loss of congeners with the lowest molecular weight (Iwata et al., 1973).
Photolytic. PCB-1254 in a 90% acetonitrile/water solution containing 0.2–0.3 M sodium borohydride and irradiated with UV light (λ = 254 nm) reacted to yield dechlorinated biphenyls. After 16 h, no chlorinated biphenyls were detected. Without sodium borohydride, only 25% of PCB-1254 were destroyed after 16 h (Epling et al., 1988). In a similar experiment, PCB-1254 (1,000 mg/L) in an alkaline 2-propanol solution was exposed to UV light (λ = 254 nm). After 30 min, all of the PCB-1254 isomers were converted to biphenyl. When the radiation source was sunlight, only 25% was degraded after a 20-h exposure. But when the sensitizer phenothiazine (5 mM) was added to the solution, photodechlorination of PCB-1254 was complete after 1 h at 350 nm. In addition, when PCB-1254 contaminated soil was heated at about 80 °C in the presence of di-tert-butyl peroxide, complete dechlorination to biphenyl was observed (Hawari et al., 1992).
Chemical/Physical. When PCB-1254-contaminated sand was treated with a poly(ethylene glycol)/potassium hydroxide mixture at room temperature, 81% reacted after 6 d forming aryl poly(ethylene glycols) (Brunelle and Singleton, 1985).

Solubility in water

(wt %): Pyridine (114 at 31 °C), diglycol monoethyl ether (173 at 26 °C), methanol (15 at 26 °C), ethanol (10 at 27 °C) (Monsanto, 1960)