Review of investigations of dichloromethane metabolism and subchronic oral toxicity as the basis for the design of chronic oral studies in rats and mice.

In preparation for the design and performance of chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity studies in rats and mice on dichloromethane (methylene chloride; DCM), biochemical, mutagenicity, short-term, metabolic and subchronic feeding studies were carried out. These studies established that it was feasible to present DCM to rodents at adequate levels in drinking-water. Saturation of metabolic pathways was demonstrated in both rats and mice at oral doses of approximately 100 mg/kg. The lowest toxic effect levels after 90 days of treatment were found to be approximately 190 and 580 mg/kg for rats and mice, respectively. Dose, vehicle and the exposure regimen were found to affect DCM challenge to target tissues and its metabolism to CO and CO2.

A two-year drinking-water study of dichloromethane in rodents. I. Rats.

In order to evaluate its toxicity and carcinogenic potential, dichloromethane (DCM) at levels of 0, 0, 5, 50, 125 and 250 mg/kg body weight/day was administered in deionized water to a total of 500 Fischer 344 rats of each sex for 104 wk. An additional group received a level of 250 mg/kg body weight/day for 78 wk followed by a 26-wk recovery period during which only deionized water was presented. Kills were performed at 26-wk intervals. Statistically significant effects on body weight, water consumption and food consumption were observed at the two highest dose levels. Minimal effects were noted on the haematological and serum chemistry parameters monitored. Treatment-related hepatic changes were observed histomorphologically in both sexes after 78 wk of treatment. These changes consisted of an increased incidence of foci/areas of cellular alteration and of fatty change at all dose levels except the lowest. A decrease in the severity of fatty change was observed in the recovery group, but no difference was noted in the incidence of cellular alteration. An increased incidence of hepatic tumours noted in females treated at 50 and 250 mg/kg/day was within the range of historical control incidences. In view of an unusually low incidence of similar tumours in the concurrent control groups and the absence of an increased incidence of hepatic tumours in the group treated at 125 mg/kg/day, the effect seen at 50 and 250 mg/kg/day was not considered to be attributable to DCM treatment. Under the experimental conditions of this study, there was a no-observable-effect level of 5 mg/kg/day in both males and females.

A two-year drinking-water study of dichloromethane in rodents. II. Mice.

To investigate its carcinogenic potential, dichloromethane (DCM) was administered at levels of 0, 0, 60, 125, 185 and 250 mg/kg body weight/day to a total of 1000 B6C3F1 mice in deionized drinking-water for 104 wk. The high-dose male and female mice showed a transitory increase in mean leucocyte counts. Treatment-related toxic changes were noted in both male and female livers at the highest dose. There was a slight elevation of proliferative hepatocellular lesions in the treated males but no dose-related trend was apparent and the effect was absent in the females. Neoplastic lesions observed in the study were homogeneous among all groups and were within the range of incidence in historical controls. The results of this study demonstrated a toxicological no-observable-effect level (NOEL) for DCM of 185 mg/kg body weight/day in both sexes.