n-Hexane

An evaluation of the risks to human health and the environment posed by n-hexane, a chemical isolated from natural gas and crude oil and used in food processing to extract vegetable oil from beans, nuts and seeds. It is also used as a solvent, a cleaning agent, in the rubber industry and in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The opening sections review what is known about the behaviour of this highly volatile chemical in the environment and its metabolic fate in experimental animals and in the human body. While concluding that n-hexane is not likely to present a hazard to either the general population or the environment, the report stresses the need for precautions in the occupational setting, including the use of suitably designed work processes and engineering controls for reducing atmospheric levels below the recommended occupational exposure limits.