[Evaluation of risks of glycol ethers for the reproductive health]

Abstract

Glycol ethers (Ge) are a family of substances with a growing use in industrial and domestic products for the two last decades. Ge (group 1 and 2) are experimentally toxic for reproduction and development, at various levels. That begins to be found in humans. Epidemiological studies confirm toxicokinetic data showing humans are more sensitive than animals, because of a low excretion rate of the toxic metabolites. Occupational and consumer exposures are frequently higher than reference concentrations deducted from animal data. They may be involved in the growing number of genital reproductive system and reproduction anomaly, observed in most developed countries. Genetic toxicity is suspected from experimental data, but further investigations are needed.