Aroclor 1242 Chemical Properties

Boiling point:

325-366 °C

Density 

1.381-1.392 g/cm3(Temp: 25 °C)

vapor pressure 

10 at 37.8 °C (calculated, Monsanto, 1960)

Flash point:

-12 °C

storage temp. 

room temp

solubility 

(wt %):
Benzoic acid (10.0 at 31 °C), pyridine (132.5 at 30 °C), diglycol monoethyl ether (224 at 31 °C), methanol (42.5 at 29 °C), ethanol (23.3 at 29 °C) (Monsanto, 1960)

form 

Straw-colored liquid

Water Solubility 

277ug/L(20 ºC)

Henry's Law Constant

0.347, 0.575, 0.928, 1.47, 2.27, 3.43, 5.09, 7.60, and 10.8 at 0.0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, 35.5, and 40.0 °C, respectively (predicted, Burkhard et al., 1985)

Exposure limits

Potential occupational carcinogen. NIOSH REL: TWA 1.0 g/m³, IDLH 5 mg/m³; OSHA PEL: TWA 1 mg/m³; ACGIH TLV: TWA 1 mg/m³ (adopted).

EPA Substance Registry System

Aroclor 1242 (53469-21-9)

Safety Information

Hazard Codes 

F,Xn,N,Xi,T

Risk Statements 

11-38-50/53-65-67-33-36/37/38-22-62-51/53-48/20-39/23/24/25-23/24/25-52/53-45

Safety Statements 

9-16-29-33-60-61-62-35-36-26-36/37-45-53

RIDADR 

2315

OEB

E

OEL

TWA: 0.001 mg/m3 [*Note: The REL also applies to other PCBs.]

WGK Germany 

3

RTECS 

TQ1356000

HazardClass 

9

PackingGroup 

II

Hazardous Substances Data

53469-21-9(Hazardous Substances Data)

Toxicity

Acute oral LD50 for rats 4,250 mg/kg (quoted, RTECS, 1985).

IDLA

5 mg/m3

Aroclor 1242 Usage And Synthesis

Chemical Properties

Clear; mobile liquid; approximately 3.1 chlorine atoms per molecule.

Physical properties

Colorless to light yellow, viscous, oily, dense, nonflammable liquid with a weak, hydrocarbon or aromatic-type odor

Uses

Dielectric liquids; in fixed paper capacitors; heat-transfer liquid widely used in transformers and utility transmission lines; swelling agents for transmission seals; ingredient in lubricants, oils, and greases; plasticizers for cellulose products, vinyl, and chlorinated rubbers; in polyvinyl acetate to improve fiber-tear properties. In fluorescent and high-intensity discharge ballasts manufactured prior to 1979 (U.S. EPA, 1998) and in electric motors (Monsanto, 1960).
Prior to being banned in 1976, PCB-1254 was used in home appliances including air conditioners, furnaces, washers, and driers. May have been added to automotive transmission oils to swell shrunken transmission seals in place (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 polyvinyl acetate emsulsions to impart strong bonding power in adhesives. In various nitrocellulose lacquers to impart weather resistance, luster, adhesion, and decreased burning rate. These lacquers may also contain tricresyl phosphate (Monsanto, 1960).

Uses

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

Definition

AROCLOR 1242, 1X1ML, ISO, 1UG/ML is a polychlorinated biphenyl.

General Description

Viscous oily liquid.

Air & Water Reactions

Insoluble in water.

Reactivity Profile

Simple aromatic halogenated organic compounds are very unreactive. Reactivity generally decreases with increased degree of substitution of halogen for hydrogen atoms.

Health Hazard

Chlorodiphenyl, 42% chlorine (one of over 200 possible chlorinated compounds that comprise polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs) is an irritant of the eyes and mucous membranes, is toxic to the liver, and causes an acneform dermatitis (chloracne). It is a liver carcinogen in animals.

Fire Hazard

Some may burn but none ignite readily. Containers may explode when heated. Some may be transported hot.

Safety Profile

Suspected human carcinogen. Poison by subcutaneous route. Mildly toxic by ingestion. Human systemic effects by inhalation: pulmonary and liver effects. Experimental 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.

Carcinogenicity

The genotoxicity of PCBs has been tested in in vivo and in vitro studies with generally negative results.

Environmental Fate

Biological. A strain of Alcaligenes eutrophus degraded 81% of the congeners by dechlorination under anaerobic conditions (Bedard et al., 1987). A bacterial culture isolated from Hamilton Harbour, Ontario was capable of degrading a commercial mixture of PCB-1242. The metabolites identified by GC/MS included isohexane, isooctane, ethylbenzene, isoheptane, isopropylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, isobutylbenzene, n-butylbenzene, and isononane (Kaiser and Wong, 1974). A strain of Pseudomonas, isolated from activated sludge and grown with biphenyl as the sole carbon source, degraded 2,4′-dichlorobiphenyl yielding the following compounds: two monochlorobenzoic acids, two monohydroxydichlorobiphenyls, and a yellow hydroxyoxo(chlorophenyl) chlorohexadienoic acid. Irradiation of the mixture containing these compounds led to the formation of two monochloroacetophenones and the disappearance of the yellow compound. Similar compounds were found when 2,4′-dichlorobiphenyl was replaced with a PCB-1242 mixture (Baxter and Sutherland, 1984).
Soil. In Hudson River, NY sediments, the presence of adsorbed PCB-1242 in core samples suggests it is very persistent in this environment. The estimated half-life ranged from 1.3 to 2.1 yr (Bopp et al., 1982).
Photolytic. PCB-1242 in a 90% acetonitrile/water solution containing 0.2 to 0.3 M sodium borohydride and irradiated with UV light (λ = 254 nm) reacted to yield dechlorinated biphenyls. Without sodium borohydride, the reaction proceeded much more slowly (Epling et al., 1988).
Chemical/Physical. When PCB-1242-contaminated sand was treated with a poly(ethylene glycol)/potassium hydroxide mixture at room temperature, 27% reacted after 2 wk forming aryl poly(ethylene glycols) (Brunelle and Singleton, 1985).

Solubility in water

(wt %):
Benzoic acid (10.0 at 31 °C), pyridine (132.5 at 30 °C), diglycol monoethyl ether (224 at 31 °C), methanol (42.5 at 29 °C), ethanol (23.3 at 29 °C) (Monsanto, 1960)