2-chloroethanol--percutaneous toxicity of a solvent.

This report is a part of a comparative study where skin pathology, blood concentrations and percutaneous toxicity after epicutaneous administration of solvents are investigated. The method used for the study of percutaneous toxicity proved capable of differentiating between different applied amounts of 2-chloroethanol. This solvent was found to be highly toxic, even 0.10 ml killed all 20 exposed animals within 24 h. A 35% aqueous solution killed about half of the animals, while a 10% solution killed only 1 out of 20. A comparative study with intraperitoneal administration of the same amounts as epicutaneously, showed that the mortality and mean time until death diminished with rising amounts (with only one exception).