The genetic toxicity of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, 1,2-dibromo-3- chloro-2-methylpropane, and 1,2,3-tribromo-2-methylpropane

Abstract

1,2-Dibromo-3-chloro-2-methylpropane (DBCMP) and 1,2,3-tribromo-2-methylpropane (TBMP) are contaminants formed during the manufacture of bromobutyl rubber. These chemicals are structurally similar to 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), a known genotoxin and rodent carcinogen. The present study compared the genotoxic properties of DBCMP and TBMP to those of DBCP. In the Salmonella assay, DBCP was positive in strains TA-98, TA-100 and TA-1535 in the presence of exogenous activation; DBCP was weakly active in TA-1535 in the absence of activation. Neither DBCMP nor TBMP produced reproducible evidence of mutagenic activity in the Salmonella assay despite the use of several different variations of this test. In the mouse lymphoma gene mutation assay, DBCP and TBMP were positive in the presence and absence of activation, while DBCMP was positive only in the absence of activation. All three test compounds were active in the Syrian hamster embryo morphologic transformation assay. The results indicated that both DBCMP and TBMP exhibited some genotoxic activity as did DBCP. The presence of the methyl group on the 2-carbon position essentially eliminated the mutagenicity of DBCMP and TBMP in the Salmonella assay.

DNA damage and cell death induced by 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) and structural analogs in monolayer culture of rat hepatocytes: 3-aminobenzamide inhibits the toxicity of DBCP

“…Acute exposure to DBCP results in kidney and testicular necrosis and atrophy and higher doses cause liver necrosis (Kluwe et al, 1981a;. Chronic exposure of animals has been shown to cause cancer (Olson et al, 1973;Weisburger, 1977;Federal Register, 1979;IARC, 1979) and DBCP is genotoxic to bacteria and mammalian cells in vitro (Rosenkranz, 1975;Tezuka et al, 1980;McKee et al, 1987). In addition, DBCP induces extensive DNA damage in several organs in vivo (Teramoto et al, 1980;Omichinski et al, 1987;SCderlund et al, 1988;Brunborg et al, 1990).…”