Dioxane

Dioxane is a flammable liquid, it may form explosive chemicals, especially when it is very dry. It is usually produced in large amounts by three companies in the United States. Dioxane enters the body when people breathe air or consume water or food contaminated with dioxane. It can also be absorbed through skin contact. Dioxane is uses in facial moisturizer/treatment and shampoo. It can be listed on labels as diethylene ether, dioxan, p-dioxane, 1,4-dioxane, and diethylene dioxide. Companies use it as a solvent for paper, cotton, and textile processing. It is also used for various organic products, automotive coolant liquid, and in cosmetics. Five workers in an artificial silk factory died as a result of severe kidney and liver damage after heavy exposures for 2 months. If inhaled dioxane can cause headaches, nausea, cough, sore throat, abdominal pain, dizziness, drowsiness, vomiting, and unconsciousness. Since dioxane can be absorbed through the skin, this could cause redness. If it gets into the eyes it can cause redness, pain, and watering of the eyes.

Dioxane is produced by the acid-catalysed dehydration of [|diethylene glycol], which in turn arises from the hydrolysis of [|ethylene oxide]. The molecule is centrosymmetric, meaning that it adopts a [|chair conformation], typical of relatives of [|cyclohexane]. The molecule is conformationally flexible, and the boat conformation is easily adopted, as required for chelation to metal cations. In 1985, the global production capacity for dioxane was between 11,000 and 14,000 tons.In 1990, the total U.S. production volume of dioxane was between 10,500,000 and 18,300,000 pounds. Dioxane has three isomers: in addition to 1,4-dioxane, [|1,2-dioxane] and [|1,3-dioxane] are also known.