National Toxicology Program

Selected toxicity information from HSDB, one of the National Library of Medicine's databases. ¹

Names (NTP)

• Anthracene
• ANTHRACIN

Human Toxicity Excerpts

• ANTHRACENE IS PHOTOSENSITIZING. IT CAN CAUSE ACUTE ... DERMATITIS WITH SYMPTOMS OF BURNING, ITCHING, AND EDEMA WHICH ARE MORE PRONOUNCED IN THE EXPOSED BARE SKIN REGIONS. SKIN DAMAGE IS ASSOCIATED WITH IRRITATION OF THE CONJUNCTIVA AND UPPER AIRWAYS. OTHER SYMPTOMS ARE LACRIMATION, PHOTOPHOBIA, EDEMA OF THE EYELIDS AND CONJUNCTIVAL HYPEREMIA. THE ACUTE SYMPTOMS DISAPPEAR WITHIN SEVERAL DAYS AFTER CESSATION OF CONTACT. [International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Vols. I&II. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1983., p. 162]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• PROLONGED EXPOSURE GIVES RISE TO PIGMENTATION OF THE BARE SKIN REGIONS, CORNIFICATION OF ITS SURFACE LAYERS, AND TELANGIOECTASIS. ... SYSTEMIC EFFECTS /OF INDUSTRIAL ANTHRACENE/ MANIFEST THEMSELVES BY HEADACHE, NAUSEA, LOSS OF APPETITE, SLOW REACTIONS, AND ADYNAMIA. PROLONGED EFFECTS MAY LEAD TO INFLAMMATION OF THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. [International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Vols. I&II. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1983., p. 162]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• UV RADIATION (295 NM) INDUCED COVALENT BINDING OF ANTHRACENE TO DNA WHICH INCR WITH TIME AND WAS NOT AFFECTED BY OXYGEN. IRRADIATION OF HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN IN THE PRESENCE OF ANTHRACENE INDUCED COVALENT BINDING OF THE HYDROCARBON TO THE PROTEIN ACCOMPANIED BY CROSSLINKING OF THE PROTEIN. PROTEIN CROSSLINKING DECREASED UNDER ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS. IRRADIATION OF ANTHRACENE BOUND TO LIPOSOMES INDUCED LIPID PEROXIDATION. [SINHA BK, CHIGNELL CF; PHOTOCHEM PHOTOBIOL 37 (1): 33-7 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• In plaque gruel from the aortas of two human heart attack victims, ... /anthracene/ was identified along with about 85 other compounds. [Ferrario JB et al; Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 14 (5): 529-34 (1985)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ACUTE TOXICITY IS PRESUMABLY DUE MOSTLY TO PHENOLIC DERIVATIVES, THE AMT OF WHICH ARE PROBABLY SMALL. [Gosselin, R.E., R.P. Smith, H.C. Hodge. Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products. 5th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1984., p. II-157]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts

• INTRAGASTRIC ADMIN OF ... PURE ANTHRACENE DOES NOT CAUSE ANIMALS TO DIE AFTER A SINGLE ADMINISTRATION OF THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE DOSE (17 G/KG). ... REPEATED POISONING OF ALBINO RATS GIVES RISE TO A DECREASE IN HEMOGLOBIN, RETICULOCYTOSIS, LEUKOPENIA, AND INCREASE IN RESIDUAL BLOOD NITROGEN. [International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Vols. I&II. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1983., p. 163]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• CHRONIC INHALATION OF ANTHRACENE AEROSOL IN CONCN OF 0.05 AND 0.01 MG/L IS ASSOCIATED WITH A REDUCED GAIN IN BODY WEIGHT AND THE SAME BLOOD CHANGES /DECR IN HEMOGLOBIN, RETICULOCYTOSIS, LEUKOPENIA, & INCR IN RESIDUAL BLOOD NITROGEN IN ALBINO RATS/ OBSERVED AFTER INTRAGASTRIC ADMIN. AFTER SUBCUTANEOUS ADMIN OF 20 MG ANTHRACENE PER DAY FOR 33 WEEKS, 5 OF 9 ANIMALS SURVIVING MORE THAN 17 MONTHS DEVELOPED FIBROMAS AND SARCOMAS IN THE REGION OF INJECTION. [International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Vols. I&II. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, 1983., p. 163]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ANTHRACENE SHOWED NO MUTAGENIC ACTIVITY IN SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM TA100 & TA98 WITH & WITHOUT ADDITION OF RAT LIVER S9; AND SHOWED NO CARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY IN SWISS ALBINO MICE. [LAVOIE E ET AL; JONES PW, LEBER WP, EDS, ANN ARBOR SCIENCE PUBLISHERS, ANN ARBOR, MI) 705 (1979)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• IN THE RAT, 0.5 MG WHEN INJECTED SUBCUTANEOUSLY DECREASED THE ANTIOXIDATIVE ACTIVITY OF THE PANCREAS DURING THE LAST 25 DAYS AFTER INJECTION. THE PANCREATIC INSULAR CELLS SHOWED INCREASES IN THE CELL, NUCLEUS, AND NUCLEOLUS SIZE. [Clayton, G. D. and F. E. Clayton (eds.). Patty's Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology: Volume 2A, 2B, 2C: Toxicology. 3rd ed. New York: John Wiley Sons, 1981-1982., p. 3354]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• THE STANDARD C3H/10T1/2 CLONE 8 CELL TRANSFORMATION ASSAY WAS NEGATIVE FOR ANTHRACENE. [LUBET RA ET AL; J NATL CANCER INST 71 (5): 991-7 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• THE DNA CELL BINDING ASSAY IS BASED ON EARLIER OBSERVATIONS WHICH INDICATED THAT DNA AND OTHER NUCLEIC ACIDS EXPOSED TO ACTIVE CARCINOGENS STRONGLY REACT WITH OTHER MACROMOLECULES, PRODUCING NUCLEIC ACID AND NUCLEIC ACID PROTEIN ADDUCTS. ANTHRACENE AT CONCN OF 10 AND 100 UMOL PRODUCED A NEGATIVE RESULT FOR LOW DOSE AND QUESTIONABLE RESULT FOR HIGH DOSE WHEN TESTED USING ESCHERICHIA COLI Q13 CELLS AND ESCHERICHIA COLI DNA. [KUBINSKI H ET AL; MUTAT RES 89 (2): 95-136 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• CHINESE HAMSTER OVARY CELLS WERE EXPOSED TO 29 TOXIC CHEMICALS WHICH WERE REPRESENTATIVE OF SEVERAL CLASSES OF COMPOUNDS LISTED BY THE NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL CONSENT DECREE AS PRIORITY TOXIC POLLUTANTS. ANTHRACENE AT 1000 UG/ML FOR 20 HR PRODUCED VERY LITTLE EFFECT ON CHINESE HAMSTER OVARY CELL CULTURES. PERCENT OF CONTROL: VIABILITY 97%; DNA SYNTHESIS 99 + or - 7%; PROTEIN SYNTHESIS 95 + or - 3%; ATP 64%. [GARRETT NE, LEWTAS J; ENVIRON RES 32 (2): 455-65 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• A significant increase in the formation of non-neoplastic melanotic tumors was observed among first and second generation progeny of Drosophila melanogaster that had been exposed chronically as larvae to low concentrations of anthracene. It was concluded that anthracene solubilized with detergents /could/ induce autosomal dominant melanotic tumors. [Corwin HD, Gottlieb FJ; Environ Res 15: 327-31 (1978) as cited in ITC/USEPA; Information Review #227 (Draft) Anthracene p.227 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Tumor production in hairless mice that received a daily topical application of 40 ul anthracene followed by a single exposure to a solar stimulant 2 hr/5 days/38 wk did not differ from that of the vehicle treated group. [Forbes PD et al; Food Cosmet Toxicol 14: 303-6 (1976) as cited in ITC/USEPA; Information Review #227 (Draft) Anthracene p.13 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• EXPERIMENTS ON RABBITS HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT CHEMICALLY PURE ANTHRACENE & PHENANTHRENE HAVE A LESS PRONOUNCED PHOTOSENSITIZING EFFECT THAN TECHNICAL ANTHRACENE, 93% ANTHRACENE, OR PURE CARBAZOLE. [International Labour Office. Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety. Volumes I and II. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1971., p. 106]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Acute mortality of bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus, dosed with anthracene at 12.7 ug/l and exposed to natural sunlight conditions was observed during a study of anthracene fate in outdoor channel microcosms. No mortality was observed under control conditions (natural sunlight and no anthracene). Fish survived when held in the shade downstream of sunlit contaminated water, arguing against mortality due to toxic anthracene photoproducts in the water. Fish held 48 hr in anthracene contaminated water (12 ug/l), in a shaded channel, died when placed in clean water and exposed to sunlight. After 144 hr depuration in darkness, fish anthracene concentrations had decreased to preexposure concentrations, and no mortality was observed when fish were subsequently exposed to sunlight. This observed phototoxic response in anthracene contaminated fish may represent a significant environmental hazard of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in aquatic environments. [Bowling JW et al; Aquat Toxicol 3 (1): 79-90 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• The toxic effect of aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, naphthalene, 1-methylnaphthalene, anthracene, 9-methylanthracene, phenanthrene, on the productivity of various marine planktonic algae, Dunaliela biocula, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Isochysis galbana, increased with increasing number of aromatic rings. The methylated compounds were most toxic. Taxonomic differences in sensitivity to aromatic hydrocarbons were not demonstrated. [Jensen K et al; Limnol 15 (2): 581-4 (1984)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Paramecium caudatum (protozoan) exposed to 0.1 ug/l of anthracene for 60 minutes, exhibited a 90% lethal photodynamic response. [Epstein SS et al; Cancer Res 23: 35 (1963) as cited in USEPA; Ambient Water Quality Criteria Doc: Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons p.B-3 (1980)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Photoinduced anthracene toxicity to Daphnia pulex was investigated using organisms that were exposed to 3 nominal anthracene concentrations (3.0, 9.6, and 30.0 ug/l) in static bioassays on clear, partly cloudy, and cloudy days. A shell coating technique was used to achieve concentrations within the aqueous solubility range of anthracene and to obviate the need for a carrier solvent. Photoinduced anthracene toxicity was not observed under laboratory lighting conditions; it occurred only in the presence of solar radiation. A dose response relation existed for both anthracene concn and solar radiation intensity. Anthracene was only slightly less toxic to organisms transferred into water containing no anthracene before exposure to solar radiation. This indicates that toxicity resulted from activation by solar radiation of material present on or within the animals and not in the water. Activation appeared to be of anthracene molecules and not anthracene degradation products, since similar concentrations of anthraquinone, the primary and most stable degradation product of anthracene, were not toxic at similar solar radiation intensities. ... A series of filters was used to selectively remove UV wavelengths from solar radiation to determine the photoactive wavelengths. Mylar film absorbs in the UV-B region (285-315 nm) of solar radiation and Corning 0-52 glass absorbs essentially the entire spectrum of UV wavelengths (285-380 nm). Placement of Mylar film over bioassay beakers diminished photoinduced anthracene toxicity only slightly, whereas Corning 0-52 glass reduced toxicity proportionate to the reduction in UV intensity. Thus, wavelengths in the UV-A region (315-380) are primarly responsible for photoinduced anthracene toxicity. [Allred PM, Giesy JP; Environ Toxicol Chem 4 (2): 219-26 (1985)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Not mutagenic, either with or without metabolic activation at concentrations up to 3 umol/plate in Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537. [Florin I et al; Toxicol 18: 219-32 (1980) as cited in ITC/USEPA; Information Review #227 (Draft) Anthracene p.15 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Anthracene was tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella/microsome preincubation assay using the standard protocol approved by the National Toxicology Program. Anthracene was tested at doses of 0.033, 0.10, 0.33, 1,0, 2.0, 3.3, and 10 mg/plate in as many as 5 Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA1535, TA1537, TA97, TA98, and TA100) in the presence and absence of rat or hamster liver S-9. Anthracene was positive in strain TA100 when dosed at 0.033 mg/plate with hamster liver S-9. Precipitate was observed in cultures tested at 10 mg/plate. [Mortelmans K et al; Environ Mutagen 8: 1-119 (1986)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• A group of 28 BDI or BDIII rats, 14 weeks old (sex unspecified), received a diet containing initially 5 mg and later 15 mg "highly purified" anthracene in oil on six days/week for 78 weeks. The total dose was 4.5 g/rat. The animals were observed until natural death; mean survival time was 700 days. Malignant tumors developed in two rats; in one a sarcoma of the liver after 18 months and in the other an adenocarcinoma of the uterus after 25 months. (No concurrent control was used.) [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 108 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• No skin tumor was found in 100 mice (strain, sex, age and body weight unspecified) in which the skin was painted with a 40% suspension of anthracene (purity, dose and number of applications unspecified) in lanolin; 55 mice had died after six months of treatment. Another skin-painting study with anthracene in mice was also negative. [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 109 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• No skin tumor was reported in 41 albino mice of a pure strain (strain, sex, age and body weight unspecified) given skin applications of a solution of anthracene in benzene or sesame oil (purity, dose and number of applications unspecified). [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 109 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• No skin tumor was reported in 44 mice (strain, sex, age and body weight unspecified) receiving skin applications of a 5% solution of anthracene (purity and dose unspecified) in petroleum jelly-olive oil on the ears thrice weekly for life. After 11 months, only one mouse was still alive. In another group of 44 mice similarly treated with anthracene and, in addition, with ultraviolet radiation (wave length > 320 nm) for 40 or 60 min two hours after skin application, no skin tumor was found. Of this group, only five mice were still alive after seven months, and the last mouse died during the ninth month. Another group of 100 mice were treated similarly, with anthracene but received 90 min ultraviolet radiation (wave length > 320 nm); again, no skin tumor developed, and mortality was high (93/100 died after seven months; the last mouse died during the ninth month). [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 109 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• No subcutaneous sarcoma was reported in 10 rats (strain, sex, age and body weight unspecified) given weekly sc injections of 2 ml of a 0.05% suspension of anthracene in water for life (purity unspecified) (maximum total dose, 103 mg/animal). Mortality of rats were: 0/10 after six months, 7/10 after 12 months and 8/10 after 18 months. [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 110 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• A group of 10 BDI or BDIII rats (sex unspecified), 14 weeks of age, received ip injections of 1 ml of 2% highly purified anthracene (20 mg anthracene/injection; total dose, 660 mg/animal) in oil (type unspecified) once a week for 33 weeks. The animals were observed until natural death. The mean survival time was slightly over two years. Only one rat had a tumor, which was a spindle-cell sarcoma in the abdominal cavity found after two years (no concurrent control was used). [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 111 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• No lung tumor was found in 60 female Osborne-Mendel rats, three to six months of age, given one direct injection into the lungs of 0.05 ml of a mixture of beeswax and tricaprylin (1:1) containing 0.5 mg anthracene (purity unspecified). Nearly half the rats (number unspecified) were killed at the end of one year. [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 111 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• When anthracene, 8 mg/mouse (strains BALB/C; C3H/A; C57BL x CBA F1 hybrids), was given either sc daily or as a single oral dose during the last week of gestation, greater survival and hyperplastic changes were seen than in untreated controls in explants of embryonic kidney in organ culture. The changes seen were qualitatively similar but less marked than those produced by treatment with 1-8 mg 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. Benzo(a)pyrene hydroxylase activity of the rat placenta can be induced by anthracene. [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 112 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Anthracene failed to induce unscheduled DNA synthesis in HeLa cells in the presence of a rat liver mixed function oxidase preparation. [Martin CN et al; Cancer Res 38: 2621-7 (1978) as cited in ITC/USEPA; Information Review #227 (Draft) Anthracene p.16 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• The Superfund site located in Massena, NY, is contaminated by both halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Since representatives of both HAHs and PAHs are capable of binding to the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) well-documented AhR-mediated effects, immunosuppression was used to evaluate the individual and interactive toxicity of these compounds. Fifteen PAHs were first screened for their ability to suppress the antibody response in C57BL/6 (Ah+/+) mice immunized 12 hours after a single oral dose of 0.1, 1, 10, or 100 mg/kg. Acenaphthene, anthracene, benzo(g,h,i)perylene, fluoranthene, fluorene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene had little or no effect. Seven PAHs caused > 50% suppression at 100 mg/kg. Listed in order of decreasing potency they were benzo(k)fluoranthene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3,c,d)pyrene, benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, dibenzo(a,h)anthracene, and benz(a)anthracene. [Silkworth JB et al; Toxicology 105 (2-3): 375-86)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Treatment of B6C3F1 mice with acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene and dibenzofuran resulted in induction of hepatic microsomal methoxyresorufin O-deethylase (MROD) activity. . Acenaphthylene was the most potent inducer of MROD, a Cypla2-dependent activity. Acenaphthylene (300 mg/kg) caused a > 80 fold induction of hepatic microsomal MROD activity; no induction was observed in kidney or lung. Results of competitive binding studies indicated that the tricyclic hydrocarbons did not competitively displace (3H)2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or (3H)benzo(a)pyrene from the mouse hepatic cytosolic aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor or 4S carcinogen binding protein respectively. The data indicate that acenaphthylene and related tricyclic hydrocarbons induce Cypla2 gene expression in B6C3F1 mice via an Ah receptor-independent pathway. Thus, tricyclic hydrocarbons induce Cypla2 without the co-induction of Cypla1. [Chaloupka K et al; Carcinogenesis 15 (12): 2835-40 (1994)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Consumption of fossil fuels has increased indoor and outdoor concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide. To study the combined effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons administration and nitrogen dioxide exposure on mutagenicity of urine from animals we injected 400 mg/kg body weight ip one of five kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pyrene, fluoranthene, fluorene, anthracene and chrysene) into ICR mice, Wistar rats, Syrian golden hamsters or Hartley guinea pigs after exposure to 20 ppm nitrogen dioxide gas for 24 hours and then exposed the animals to nitrogen oxide gas for an additional 24 hours. During the latter 24 hours we collected the urine and assayed its mutagenicity with the Ames Salmonella strains after treatment with beta-glucuronidase and arylsulfatase and extraction with dichloromethane. The urine from mice treated with both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide showed high mutagenicity for Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100, whereas the urine from mice treated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and air showed almost not mutagenic activity. The mutagenicity was decreased in nitroreductase- and acetyltransferase-deficient strains TA98NR and TA98/1,8-DNP6 respectively. Treatment with mixture of 20% of each of the five kinds of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nitrogen dioxide augmented the urinary mutagenicity of mice 1.5-fold. [Miyanishi K et al; Carcinogenesis 17 (7): 1483-90 (1996)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Human Toxicity Values

• None found

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Non-Human Toxicity Values

• LC50 Daphnia magna = 0.035 mg/L/48 hour /Freshwater crustacean; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Daphnia magna = 0.02 mg/L/24 hour /Freshwater crustacean; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Aedes aegypti = <0.001 mg/L/24 hour /Insect; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Aedes aegypti = 0.027 mg/L/48 hour /Insect; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Aedes taeniorhynchus = 0.26 mg/L/24 hour /Insect; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Culex quinquefasciatus = 0.037 mg/L/24 hour /Insect; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Rana pipiens = 0.11 mg/L/24 hour /Freshwater amphibian; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Rana pipiens = 0.025 mg/L/5 hour /Freshwater amphibian; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Pimephales promelas = 0.36 mg/L/24 hour /Freshwater fish; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Artemia spp. = >0.05 mg/L/48 hour /Marine crustacean; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• LC50 Artemia salina = 0.02 mg/L/3 hour /Marine crustacean; conditions of bioassay not specified/ [Verschueren, K. Handbook of Environmental Data on Organic Chemicals. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1996., p. 213]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Absorption, Distribution and Excretion

• POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS WERE DETECTED IN HUMAN FAT AND LIVER AND THEIR AVERAGE CONCN WERE 1100 AND 380 PPT, RESPECTIVELY. ANTHRACENE WAS FOUND AT HIGH LEVELS IN THE LIVER AND FAT. [OBANA H ET AL; BULL ENVIRON CONTAM TOXICOL 27 (1): 23-7 (1981)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• SOYBEANS GROWN IN LIQUID CULTURE AND IN SOIL CONTAINING (14)CARBON ANTHRACENE (14)CARBON ASSIMILATED AND TRANSLOCATED IT TO STEMS AND LEAVES. SOYBEANS GROWN IN LIQUID CULTURE AND EXPOSED TO AN AMOUNT CONTAINING (14)CARBON ASSIMILATED /IT/ THROUGH THE LEAVES AND TRANSLOCATED IT TO STEMS AND ROOTS. MEASUREMENT OF (14)CARBON DIOXIDE EFFLUX FROM THE SOIL GROWN PLANTS AND TLC OF EXTRACTS OF THE PLANTS GROWN IN LIQUID CULTURE DEMONSTRATED THAT SOYBEAN PLANTS CAN CATABOLIZE. (14)CARBON UPTAKE RATES OF (14)CARBON FROM LIQUID CULTURE WERE CORRELATED WITH CONCENTRATION OF (14)CARBON IN THE SOLUTION. UPTAKE FROM LIQUID CULTURE EXCEEDED UPTAKE FROM SOIL. GREATER UPTAKE AND CATABOLISM OF (14)CARBON WAS OBSERVED FROM SOIL AT FIELD CAPACITY THAN FROM FLOODED SOIL. [EDWARDS NT ET AL; ENVIRON EXP BOT 22 (3): 349-57 (1982)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• (14)CARBON -LABELED ANTHRACENE WAS ADMINISTERED TO YOUNG COHO SALMON IN FOOD AND BY IP INJECTION. THE ACCUMULATED (14) CARBON IN KEY ORGANS (EG, LIVER AND BRAIN) INCREASED OVER VARIOUS TIME PERIODS. AFTER IP INJECTION, THE HIGHEST PERCENT OF METABOLITES OCCURRED IN GALLBLADDER; HOWEVER, SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS WERE ALSO FOUND IN THE LIVER, BRAIN, FLESH, AND CARCASS. IT APPEARS THAT AROMATIC METABOLITES ARE BROADLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT FISH EXPOSED TO POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS. [ROUBAL WT ET AL; ARCH ENVIRON CONTAM TOXICOL 5 (4): 513-29 (1977)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ALL 6 HYDROCARBONS, ANTHRACENE, PHENOL, CRESOL, TOLUENE, NAPTHALENE, AND BENZO(A)PYRENE, TESTED WERE EXCRETED FROM THE GILLS OF DOLLY VARDEN CHAR (SALVELINUS MALMA), ALTHOUGH LESS OF THE LARGEST AND LEAST POLAR COMPOUNDS WERE EXCRETED. 1.9% OF THE ADMINISTERED (14)CARBON -LABELED ANTHRACENE WAS EXCRETED FROM GILLS. THE SIZE OF THE HYDROCARBON APPEARED TO BE A MORE IMPORTANT FACTOR IN GILL EXCRETION THAN PARTITION COEFFICIENT. A SMALL AMOUNT WAS RECOVERED FROM THE CLOACAL CHAMBER. [THOMAS RE, RICE SD; PHYSIOL MECH MAR POLLUT TOXIC (PROC SYMP POLLUT MAR ORG): 161-76 (1982)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• The waxy surface of some plant leaves and fruits can concentrate polyaromatic hydrocarbons through surface adsorption. /Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons/ [USEPA; Ambient Water Quality Criteria Doc: Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons p.C-11 (1980)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• Five normal adult volunteers without cutaneous disease applied 2% crude tar to the skin for eight hour periods on two consecutive days. Blood extracts subjected to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry yielded evidence of adsorption in all five volunteers. Phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene, and fluoranthene, were found in four volunteers. [Storer JS et al; Arch Dermatol 120 (7): 874-7 (1984)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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Metabolism/Metabolites

• WHEN ADMIN ORALLY TO ANIMALS ... (70-80% OF DOSE) IS EXCRETED UNCHANGED IN FECES, BUT METABOLITES PRESENT IN RAT URINE INCLUDE N-ACETYL-S-(1,2-DIHYDRO-2-HYDROXY-1-ANTHRYL)-CYSTEINE AND CONJUGATES OF TRANS-1,2-DIHYDROANTHRACENE-1,2-DIOL, AND 1,2-DIHYDROXYANTHRACENE. THE CYSTEINE CONJUGATE IS DECOMPOSED BY MINERAL ACIDS TO YIELD 1-ANTHRYLMERCAPTURIC ACID, 1 & 2-ANTHROLS & ANTHRACENE. RATS ... METABOLIZE ANTHRACENE INTO TRANS-9,10-DIHYDROANTHRACENE-9,10-DIOL, WHICH GIVES RISE TO ANTHRONE AND SEVERAL HYDROXYLATED METABOLITES. [Parke, D. V. The Biochemistry of Foreign Compounds. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968., p. 220]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• IN VITRO METABOLISM OF ANTHRACENE WITH RAT LIVER MICROSOMES PREDOMINANTLY FORMS TRANS-1,2-DIHYDROXY-1,2-DIHYDROANTHRACENE WITH LITTLE EVIDENCE OF METABOLISM AT THE 9,10-POSITION. [AKHTAR MN ET AL; J CHEM SOC PERKIN TRANS I 0 (6): 1442-6 (1979)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• ... METABOLISM OF THE NORMALLY STABLE, UNSUBSTITUTED AROMATIC CYCLIC HYDROCARBON, SUCH AS ... ANTHRACENE DOES NOT RESULT FROM REPLACEMENT OF A NUCLEAR HYDROGEN BUT ... INVOLVES FIRST AN INTERMEDIARY OXIDATION TO EPOXIDE. THIS REACTION REQUIRES LIVER MICROSOMES, NADPH & OXYGEN. THIS PRODUCT ... REACTS WITH GLUTATHIONE IN PRESENCE OF ... GSH S-EPOXIDETRANSFERASE, TO FORM ... A "PREMERCAPTURATE" ... [LaDu, B.N., H.G. Mandel, and E.L. Way. Fundamentals of Drug Metabolism and Disposition. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1971., p. 168]**PEER REVIEWED**
  
• The 1,2-dihydrodiol has been identified as the major metabolite of anthracene following incubation of this compound with rat-liver preparations. The 1,2-dihydrodiol, 9,10-anthraquinone, 9,10-dihydrodiol and 2,9,10-trihydroxyanthracene have been identified as metabolites in rat urine, together with conjugates consistent with the formation of the 1,2-oxide. [IARC. Monographs on the Evaluation of the Carcinogenic Risk of Chemicals to Man. Geneva: World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1972-PRESENT. (Multivolume work)., p. V32 112 (1983)]**PEER REVIEWED**
  

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TSCA Test Submissions

• Anthracene (CAS # 120-12-7) was evaluated for mutagenicity among polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon components of kerosene soot. Exposed exponentially-growing cultures of Salmonella typhimurium strain TM677 were observed for expression of mutagenicity in treatment-induced resistance to 8-azaguanine, a purine analog. Simultaneous exposure to 25% (w/v) postmitochondrial supernatant from the liver of phenobarbital and aroclor-induced rats potentiated metabolism of any promutagens to their active forms in treated bacterial cultures. Following 2-hour incubation, the treated colonies were resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline and plated either with or without 50 ug/ml 8-azaguanine for selective and non-selective determination of mutation. Exposure to concentrations up to 225 uM anthracene (serial concentrations unspecified) for 2 hours was associated with no significantly induced mutant fraction resistance to 8-azaguanine. The authors noted solubility limitations to mutagenicity testing of higher anthracene concentrations under the conditions of this study. Further details of study methodology, statistical criterion for significance and data/assay were not provided.[PHILLIPS PETROLEUM CO; Mutagenicity of Kerosene Soot and Associated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons to Salmonella Typhimurium; 12/09/78; EPA Doc No. 88-920009009; Fiche No. OTS0555325]**UNREVIEWED**
  
• Acute oral toxicity was evaluated in groups of 5 male Wistar strain rats administered single doses of anthracene by gavage at dose levels of 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0 g/kg of body weight. Mortality was observed within 14 days of dosing in 4 animals at dose level 10.0 g/kg and in all animals at dose level 20.0 g/kg; the LD50 was calculated to be 8.12 g/kg of body weight (5.90 to 11.2, 95% confidence limits). Clinical observations included piloerection, sluggishness, prostration, rapid breathing, and bloody eyes. Gross necropsy evaluation revealed petechial hemorrhages of the lungs; mottled livers with prominent acini and a burned white color; spleens and kidneys pale and mottled; congested kidneys and adrenals; distended, chemical-filled and opaque stomachs; pink pylori; and distended, transparent, gas-filled, and yellowed intestines.[Mellon Institute; Range Finding Toxicity Tests on Rabbits and Rats,, (1977), EPA Doc. No. 86-870001568, Fiche No. OTS0516149]**UNREVIEWED**
  
• Acute dermal toxicity was evaluated in a group of six male albino rabbits (strain not reported) receiving single occluded applications of anthracene at a dose level of 4.0 g/kg of body weight. The test article was held in contact with the intact skin for a 24-hour period. Mortality was not observed within 14 days of treatment; the LD50 was determined to be greater than 4.0 g/kg of body weight. Clinical observations included diarrhea. Gross necropsy evaluation revealed congestion of the liver and spleen and pale and mottled kidneys.[Mellon Institute; Range Finding Toxicity Tests on Rabbits and Rats, (1977), EPA Doc. No. 86-870001568, Fiche No. OTS0516149]**UNREVIEWED**
  
• Summary information indicates that anthracene (CAS # 120-12-7) was evaluated for carcinogenicity in a group of 32 female Swiss CD-1 albino mice by application of a single dose of the test substance (in 100 uL of acetone) followed by tri-weekly dosing with the promoter phorbul myristate acetate (in 100 uL of acetone). Treatment with the promoter began 2 weeks following application of the test substance and continued for 180 days. Tumors were found in 1 of 32 of the mice. There was a total of 1 tumor in the group, seen at 169 days.[Haskell Laboratory; Two Stage (Initiation Promotion) Skin Tumorigenicity Testing on Mice, (1978), EPA Doc. No. 86-870001032, Fiche No. OTS0514934]**UNREVIEWED**
  
• Clastogenic activity was evaluated in 3 cultures of RL1 rat liver cells per dose, exposed for 22 hours to anthracene at concentrations of 0, 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 ug/ml of culture medium. Concentrations were chosen to be approximately 1/4, 1/2, and 1x the maximum solubility of the test substance in the solvent dimethylsulfoxide. Both positive (7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene) and solvent controls were used. No metabolic activation system was used. Cell division was arrested, and at least 400 metaphases from each test concentration were examined. Neither chromosomal nor chromatid aberrations were increased significantly at any test concentration. The proportion of cells showing chromatid aberrations was 0.2% at each test concentration. No cells showed chromosomal aberrations. Although the positive control induced chromatid aberrations in 11.9% of the cells, no chromosomal aberrations were induced.[Shell Chem. Co.; The Activity of 27 Coded Compounds in the RL1 Chromosome Assay (1989), EPA Document No. 86-890000950, Fiche No. OTS0520388]**UNREVIEWED**
  
• Anthracene was evaluated for genotoxicity in vitro in human Passage 23 WI-38 fibroblasts exposed for 30 minutes to 5 semilog dilutions (concentrations not reported) of the test compound in the presence of 1 microCi/ml 3H-thymidine, followed by exposure to only 3H-thymidine for 3 hours. Trials were performed on cell cultures in the absence of Arochlor-induced rat liver S-9 metabolic activation. The rate of unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) in hepatocytes was determined by measuring the extent of incorporation of labeled thymidine into DNA, using scintillation counting. The maximum rate of UDS in treated cell cultures was 1.2 times that of the negative controls, indicating that the treatment was negative for UDS in human fibroblasts under the conditions of this assay.[SRI International; Potential Prescreens for Chemical Carcinogens: Unscheduled DNA Synthesis Task 2 (Final Report), (1976), EPA Document No. 40-7640400, Fiche No. OTS0522506]**UNREVIEWED**
  

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Footnotes

¹ Source: the National Library of Medicine's Hazardous Substance Database, 10/28/2007.