What Is Hexane?

ATSDR says most of the n-hexane used in industry is mixed with similar chemicals called solvents, whose major use is to extract vegetable oils from crops such as soybeans, and that these solvents are also used as cleaning agents in printing, textile, furniture and shoemaking, and in special glues for roofing, shoe and leather work. It says several consumer products contain n-hexane, such as gasoline, quick-drying glues used in hobbies, and rubber cement. ATSDR says you are most likely to be exposed by breathing air that contains it, including at work or at home if you use products containing it without proper ventilation, that nearly everyone is exposed to very small amounts in air because it is in gasoline, and that you may also be exposed to it in edible oils processed using n-hexane.

ATSDR says breathing high concentrations of n-hexane can cause tingling or numbness in the feet and hands, followed by muscle weakness in the feet and lower legs, that continued exposure could lead to paralysis of the arms and legs, and that studies of workers show they can recover if removed from the exposure. The NIOSH Pocket Guide lists symptoms including eye and nose irritation, nausea, headache, peripheral neuropathy with numb extremities and muscle weakness, dermatitis, dizziness and chemical pneumonitis from aspirating the liquid, along with a recommended exposure limit of 50 ppm and an OSHA permissible exposure limit of 500 ppm, both as time-weighted averages.

A 2001 CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report described a 24-year-old automotive technician in California with peripheral neuropathy associated with occupational exposure to n-hexane, whose numbness and tingling began in his hands and feet, and who reported using one to nine 15-ounce aerosol cans of brake cleaner a day that contained 50% to 60% hexane. The report said its findings suggest solvent manufacturers should avoid using hexane in automotive degreasing products, and automotive technicians should avoid regular contact with hexane-based cleaning solvents.