540-51-2 Usage
Fire Hazard
2-Bromoethanol is combustible.
General Description
Colorless to dark brown liquid. Sweet burning taste.
Hazard
Irritant to eyes and mucous membranes.
Waste Disposal
Ethylene bromohydrin is mixed with a combustible solvent and burned in a chemicalincinerator.
Uses
Ethylene bromohydrin is not used much forany commercial purpose. The risk of expo sure to this compound arises when ethyleneoxide reacts with hydrobromic acid.
Health Hazard
The vapors of ethylene bromohydrin are anirritant to the eyes and mucous membranes.It is corrosive to the skin. Ingestion of thiscompound can produce moderate to severetoxic effects. The target organs are the CNS,gastrointestinal tract, and liver. The lethaldose in mice by the intraperitoneal route was80 mg/kg.Ethylene bromohydrin manifested car cinogenicity in test animals. It caused tumorsin lungs and the gastrointestinal tract in micefrom intraperitoneal (150 mg/kg/8 weeks)and oral (43 mg/kg/80 weeks) dosages,respectively. It is a mutagen, positive to thehistidine reversion–Ames test.
Safety Profile
Poison by
intraperitoneal route. Questionable
carcinogen with experimental neoplastigenic
and tumorigenic data. Mutation data
reported. When heated to decomposition it
emits toxic fumes of Br-. See also
Reactivity Profile
2-Bromoethanol forms an azeotrope with water; hydrolysis of aqueous solutions is accelerated by heat, alkalis and acids.
Uses
2-Bromoethanol is used in selective reduction of nitroarenes (PcFe(II)/NaBH4/2-bromoethanol catalyst system).
Chemical Properties
colourless liquid
Air & Water Reactions
Hygroscopic. Water soluble.
InChI:InChI=1/C2H5BrO/c1-2(3)4/h2,4H,1H3