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1,2-Hexanediol

CASRN#

6920-22-5

INCI Name

1,2-HEXANEDIOL

Alternate Names

1,2-Hexanediol, hexane-1,2-diol, DL-1,2-Hexanediol, 1,2-Dihydroxyhexane, 5,6-Dihydroxyhexane

Common Trade Names

Molecular Weight

118 g/mol

Functional Uses

cosurfactant, Solvent, humectant, preservative

Common Impurities

Is this a VOC?

Yes

Is this an exempt VOC?

Vapor Pressure

0.00432 mm Hg

Octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kow)

0.25

Solubility at 23.5 C

9E+3 mg/l

Boiling Point

228.3 °C

Particle size range as aerodynamic diameter

- - - μm

Hazard Summary

C2C Chemical Rating

c/b

GHS Health

H319

GHS Enviro

None

Assessed by

U.S. EPA Low Priority Chemical report.

Assessment Date

Jul 10, 2020

Assessment Expires

Jul 9, 2025

Verification Status

verified

Executive Summary

1,2-Hexanediol is an alcohol in the diol (or glycol) family. It is an organic chemical compound containing two hydroxyl (-OH) groups on a six-carbon backbone. Because of the adjacent positioning of the two hydroxyl groups, 1,2-alkanediols contain a stereocenter, leading to two stereoisomers: cis1,2-hexanediol and trans-1,2-hexanediol. Because the hydroxyl groups are located on the first and second carbons on one end of a six-carbon chain, 1,2-hexanediol is an amphiphilic molecule that acts as both a cosurfactant and solvent. A cosurfactant increases the effectiveness of surfactants, which are compounds containing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties that work to lower the surface tension at an interface (e.g., between two liquids). Surfactants may function as detergents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, wetting agents, and dispersants in a variety of applications and product sectors. See Section 5 for 1,2-hexanediol’s conditions of use. In addition, 1,2-hexanediol is hygroscopic and thus acts as a humectant, which means that it absorbs water and increases hydration in products. Also, straight-chain 1,2-alkanediols, including 1,2- hexanediol, have broad spectrum antimicrobial properties and are used alone or in combination with other chemicals, to serve as preservatives and/or preservative boosters. These properties contribute to the use of 1,2-hexanediol as a multifunctional ingredient in products.

Hazard Tables

How to read the GHS Hazard Summary Table

	Carcinogenicity	Mutagenicity	Reproductive Toxicity	Developmental Toxicity	Acute Toxicity	STOT-Single	STOT-Repeated	STOT- Neurotoxicity-Single	STOT- Neurotoxicity-Repeated	Skin Sensitizer	Respiratory Sensitizer	Skin Corrosion/Irritation	Serious Eye Damage/Eye Irritation	Acute Aquatic Toxicity	Chronic Aquatic Toxicity	Ozone Depletion
Oral Dermal Inhalation	NC Rationale Available data is insufficient for GHS classification: 1,2-hexanediol’s transformation profile, lack of structural alerts in the parent chemical substance, and negative genotoxicity results indicate this chemical is unlikely to be carcinogenic. Lower confidence due to modeled data. NC Rationale Available data is insufficient for GHS classification: 1,2-hexanediol’s transformation profile, lack of structural alerts in the parent chemical substance, and negative genotoxicity results indicate this chemical is unlikely to be carcinogenic. Lower confidence due to modeled data. NC Rationale Available data is insufficient for GHS classification: 1,2-hexanediol’s transformation profile, lack of structural alerts in the parent chemical substance, and negative genotoxicity results indicate this chemical is unlikely to be carcinogenic. Lower confidence due to modeled data.	NC Rationale Multiple negative studies indicate low concern for genotoxicity.	CNP Rationale No data available. NC Rationale Data indicate no adverse effects on estrous cycle evaluations in females and sperm parameters in males following dermal exposure. CNP Rationale No data available.	NC Rationale No adverse effects observed in two prenatal development studies indicate low concern for developmental toxicity. CNP Rationale No data available. CNP Rationale No data available.	NC Rationale An OECD Guideline 401 low concern for acute toxicity from oral exposures. NC Rationale Lower confidence due to analog data. Analog data indicate low concern for acute toxicity from dermal exposures. NC Rationale Lower confidence due to analog data. Analog data indicate low concern for acute toxicity from inhalation exposures.	NC Rationale No data available. CNP Rationale No data available. NC Rationale No data available.	NC Rationale Lower confidence due to analog data. Two studies on analogs indicate low concern for repeated dose toxicity from oral exposures. NC Rationale An OECD Guideline 411 study indicate low concern for repeated dose toxicity from dermal exposures. CNP Rationale No data available.	CNP Rationale No data available. CNP Rationale No data available. CNP Rationale No data available.	NC Rationale Relevant endpoints measured in analog repeated dose studies indicate low concern for neurotoxicity. Lower confidence due to use of analog data. CNP Rationale No data available. CNP Rationale No data available.	NC Rationale The negative findings in this study indicate 1,2-hexanediol is of low concern for skin sensitization.	NC Rationale No structural alerts identified for respiratory sensitization. Lower confidence because a lack of structural alerts is insufficient for establishing a GHS classification.	NC Rationale These results indicate low concern for 1,2-hexanediol to cause skin irritation.	Cat 2A Rationale These results indicate moderate to high concern for eye irritation (with reversible effects) by 1,2-hexanediol and is assigned category 2A.	NC Rationale Given the low persistence of 1,2-hexanediol these aquatic toxicity results provide sufficient information to indicate low concern for acute aquatic exposure by exceeding the low-concern benchmark of 10 mg/L and demonstrating greater than 60% biodegradation within 28 days.	NC Rationale ECOSAR modeling estimations indicate chronic aquatic toxicity values >10 ppm. Lower confidence due to use of modeling.	NC Rationale Chemical is not on Montreal Protocol or IPCC list.

Other

Explosives: Not classified
Flammable Gases: Not classified
Aerosols: Not classified
Oxidizing Gases: Not classified
Flammable Liquids: Not classified
Flammable Solids: Not classified
Self-reactive substances and mixtures: Not classified
Pyrophoric Liquids: Not classified
Pyrophoric Solids: Not classified
Self-heating Substances and Mixtures: Not classified
Substances and Mixtures which in contact with water, emit flammable gases: Not classified
Oxidizing Liquids: Not classified
Oxidizing Solids: Not classified
Organic Peroxides: Not classified
Corrosive to Metals: Not classified
Desensitized Explosives: Not classified

How to read the C2CC Hazard Summary Table

Human Health											Environmental							Other
	Carcinogenicity	Mutagenicity	Reproductive & Developmental Toxicity	Endocrine Activity / Disruption	Oral Toxicity	Dermal Toxicity	Inhalation Toxicity	Neurotoxicity	Skin, Eye, and Respiratory Corrosion/Irritation	Sensitization of Skin and Airways	Fish Toxicity	Daphnia Toxicity	Algae Toxicity	Terrestrial Toxicity	Persistence	Bioaccumulation	Climatic Relevance	Other (Human Health)	Organohalogens	Toxic Metals	Other (Environmental Health)
Oral Dermal Inhalation	- - -	G	G G -	- Rationale No data available.	G	G	G	G - -	Y	G	G	G	G	-	G Rationale No degradation products of concern were identified for this chemical substance. The available biodegradation results meet the low-concern benchmark and provide sufficient information to indicate this chemical will have low persistence.	G Rationale Based on the estimated bioaccumulation factor (BAF) value of 1.1, using Estimation Programs Interface (EPI) Suite models, 1,2-hexanediol has low potential for bioaccumulation in the environment based on the low-concern threshold of less than 1000.	Y	G Rationale No data available.	G	G	G Rationale No data available.

The Cradle to Cradle Material Health Assessment Methodology assigns hazard ratings to 24 individual human and environmental health endpoints. The system is largely based on GHS with the addition of endpoints including but not limited to Persistence, Bioaccumulation Potential and Endocrine Activity/Disruption. The possible C2C Chemical Ratings that can result from ChemForward’s simplified C2C chemical rating logic are:

C2C Chemical Rating	Color	Short Definition	Rules Summary
a	green	preferred in all applications	Chemical has no YELLOW or RED hazards or Cancer data gaps.
b	green	preferred in all applications	Chemical has no YELLOW hazards but lacks long-term cancer studies.
c/b	yellow/ green	acceptable in all applications	Chemical has one or more YELLOW risk flags before considering application. Applications where exposure is possible would result in a ‘c’ rating. Applications where exposure is unlikely or expected to be negligible would result in a ‘b’ rating.
grey/c	grey/ yellow	insufficient information available	Chemical has one or more GREY risk flags before considering application. Applications where exposure is possible would result in a ‘grey’ rating. Applications where exposure is unlikely or expected to be negligible would result in a ‘c’ rating.
x/c	red/ yellow	may be acceptable or problematic depending on application	Chemical has one or more RED risk flags before considering application. Applications where exposure is possible would result in a ‘x’ rating. Applications where exposure is unlikely or expected to be negligible would result in a ‘c’ rating.
N/A	red	problematic in all applications	Chemical is on a regulatory concern list, is climatically active, and/or is an organohalogen.
x-PBT	red	problematic in all applications	Chemical has a RED hazard for Persistence, Bioaccumulation, and another endpoint.
N/A	red	problematic in all applications	Chemical is a toxic metal, all of which have a RED hazard for Cancer, Mutagenicity, or Reproductive toxicity.
N/A	red	problematic in all applications	Chemical is on a regulatory concern list and has a RED hazard for Cancer, Mutagenicity, or Reproductive toxicity.
N/A	purple	banned in all applications	Chemical is on the C2C Certified banned list.

1,2-Hexanediol

Hazard Summary

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C2C Chemical Ratings

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Verification Status

How to read the GHS Hazard Summary Table

How to read the C2CC Hazard Summary Table