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National Drinking Water Database - Chemical Contaminants

Tetrahydrofuran

Status: Unregulated - EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for this contaminant.

Tetrahydrofuran is an intermediate in chemical manufacturing to produce food storage and packaging materials, rubber, resins and plastics, and is a solvent for dyes and lacquers. [read more]

Tetrahydrofuran Tetrahydrofuran is an intermediate in chemical manufacturing and a solvent for dyes and lacquers. It is used in production of food storage and packaging materials; as a solvent for manufacturing of rubber, resins and plastics; and as an indirect food additive (NJ Department of Health and Senior Services 1997). Tetrahydrofuran is irritating to the eyes, nose and upper respiratory tract. Long-term exposure can lead to headaches. Exposure to tetrahydrofuran may also damage kidneys, liver, lungs and the gastrointestinal tract (NJ Department of Health and Senior Services 1997). There is also suggestive evidence of tetrahydrofuran's carcinogenic potential to humans (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 2007c).

	Detected	Found above health guidelines	Found above legal limit
States	8	-	-
Water utilities	183	-	-
People Served	831,627	-	-

Health Concerns for Tetrahydrofuran:

• Cancer
• Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
• Occupational hazards
• Miscellaneous
• Neurotoxicity

Tetrahydrofuran Exposure by State

Water utilities in 8 states have reported detecting Tetrahydrofuran in treated tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies.

State	Water Suppliers with Tetrahydrofuran contamination
	Systems	Population
Texas	99	453,278
Delaware	22	219,653
Minnesota	8	83,748
New Jersey	3	42,093
New Mexico	17	22,588
New Hampshire	29	6,741
Virginia	4	3,223
Illinois	1	303
Total	183	831,627

The Most Polluted Communities

183 water utilities reported detecting Tetrahydrofuran in tap water since 2004, according to EWG's analysis of water quality data supplied by state water agencies

Ranked by highest average Tetrahydrofuran level

Rank	System	Population Served	Positive test results of total reported tests	Average Level (Range)
1	Plainfield Village Water Dist Plainfield, NH	248	1 of 1	320 ppb (320 ppb)
2	Amazon Park Rochester, NH	110	2 of 2	315.55 ppb (0.09 to 631 ppb)
3	Lydall Indus Thermal Soltn Inc NH	72	1 of 1	219 ppb (219 ppb)
4	Epsom Village District Epsom, NH	750	1 of 1	113.5 ppb (113.5 ppb)
5	Quail Hollow Mdwua Tijeras, NM	33	1 of 1	80 ppb (80 ppb)
6	Mallard Lakes Selbyville, DE	900	1 of 1	62.9 ppb (62.9 ppb)
7	Hidden Acres Mobile Home Park Pelican Rapids, MN	100	1 of 1	53 ppb (53 ppb)
8	Pinewood Acres Dover, DE	1,200	1 of 1	50.7 ppb (50.7 ppb)
9	Tamworth Pines Coop Tamworth, NH	138	1 of 1	47 ppb (47 ppb)
10	Warwick Mills Inc NH	110	1 of 1	40 ppb (40 ppb)

Testing Summary for Tetrahydrofuran

Are tests routinely required for Tetrahydrofuran by federal law?	No
Water suppliers reporting tests for Tetrahydrofuran (2004-2009):	4,136 of 47,576
Average testing rate for water supplier reporting tests (2004-2009):	0.4 per year

Cancer

Type of concern:	Reference:
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	Amer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens
One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results	RTECS®- Gigiena Truda i Professional'nye Zabolevaniya 1982

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Type of concern:	Reference:
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of gastrointestinal or liver toxicity	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

Type of concern:	Reference:
Limited evidence of developmental toxicity	Jankovic, J, 1996

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Type of concern:	Reference:
Classified as irritant	European Union - Classification & Labelling

Occupational hazards

Type of concern:	Reference:
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- TLV/BEI,2007
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- MSHA STANDARD-air: 3,252,1971
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Gen Indu): 29,1910 1994
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Construc): 29,1926 1994
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Shipyard): 29,1915 1993
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to high doses	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Fed Cont): 41,50-204 1994

Miscellaneous

Type of concern:	Reference:
Occupational hazards related to handling	European Union - Classification & Labelling

Neurotoxicity

Type of concern:	Reference:
nervous system - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox study	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Government, industry, academic studies and classifications

government/industry list/academic study	appears on list as	classification(s)
European Union - Classification & Labelling	TETRAHYDROFURAN	•Highly flammable •Highly flammable •Irritant (eyes, skin, or lungs) •Irritating to eyes and respiratory system
Amer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens	TETRAHYDROFURAN	•Confirmed animal carcinogen with unknown relevance to humans (ACGIH classification A3)
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• o
Environment Canada Domestic Substance List	FURAN, TETRAHYDRO-	•This chemical was deemed a moderate human health priority and was flagged by CEPA for further attention.
National Library of Medicine HazMap	TETRAHYDROFURAN	•Skin Designation (ACGIH) - Danger of cutaneous absorption (ACGIH): Yes; •Hepatotoxin: Hepatotoxin, Primary; •Neurotoxin: CNS Solvent Syndrome; •PEL (OSHA) - Permissible exposure limit (OSHA): 200 ppm; •STEL (ACGIH) - Short-term exposure limits (ACGIH): 100 ppm; •LC50 - Lethal concentration in 50% of animals tested: 37800 ppm; •TLV (ACGIH) - Threshold limit value (ACGIH): 50 ppm; •BEI - Biological Exposure Indices (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygiene, ACGIH): Tetrahydrofuran in urine = 8 mg/L; sample at end of shift;; •Flammability (NFPA) - NFPA flammability code: 0 = will not burn; 1 = must be preheated; 2 = high ambient temp required; 3 = may ignite at ambient temp; 4 = burn readily: 3: may ignite at ambient temperature; •IDLH (NIOSH) - Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health: 2000 ppm; •Odor Threshold High - The lowest concentration at which a substance can be detected or recognized using the sense of smell: 61 ppm; •Odor Threshold Low - The lowest concentration at which a substance can be detected or recognized using the sense of smell: 0.09 ppm;MA: 50
Jankovic, J, 1996	TETRAHYDROFURAN	•Developmental toxicity hazards: suspected
RTECS®- TLV/BEI,2007	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - ACGIH TLV (human TWA)
RTECS®- Gigiena Truda i Professional'nye Zabolevaniya 1982	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: Mutation in Micro-organism (Escherichia coli )
RTECS®- MSHA STANDARD-air: 3,252,1971	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - MSHA STANDARD-air (human TWA)
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Construc): 29,1926 1994	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - OSHA PEL (Construc) (human TWA)
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Fed Cont): 41,50-204 1994	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - OSHA PEL (Fed Cont) (human TWA)
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Gen Indu): 29,1910 1994	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - OSHA PEL (Gen Indu) (human TWA)
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Shipyard): 29,1915 1993	TETRAHYDROFURAN	• occupationally related - OSHA PEL (Shipyard) (human TWA)

references

government/industry list/academic study	reference
European Union - Classification & Labelling	CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
Amer Conf of Gov't Industrial Hygienists - Carcinogens	ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists) 2008. ACGIH cancer classification system. www.acgih.org.
Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics	AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
Environment Canada Domestic Substance List	EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
National Library of Medicine HazMap	NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
Scorecard.org Toxicity Information	Jankovic, J. A Screening Method for Occupational Reproductive Health Risk. American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal. 57: 641-649. 1996.
RTECS®- TLV/BEI,2007	RTECS®- TLV/BEI,2007
RTECS®- Gigiena Truda i Professional'nye Zabolevaniya 1982	RTECS®- Gigiena Truda i Professional'nye Zabolevaniya. Labor Hygiene and Occupational Diseases. (V/O Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga, 113095 Moscow, USSR) V.1-36, 1957-1992. For publisher information, see MTPEEI 26(1),43,1982
RTECS®- MSHA STANDARD-air: 3,252,1971	RTECS®- MSHA STANDARD-air: 3,252,1971
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Construc): 29,1926 1994	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Construc): 29,1926.55,1994
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Fed Cont): 41,50-204 1994	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Fed Cont): 41,50-204.50,1994
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Gen Indu): 29,1910 1994	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Gen Indu): 29,1910.1000,1994
RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Shipyard): 29,1915 1993	RTECS®- OSHA PEL (Shipyard): 29,1915.1000,1993

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