THE TOXICITY OF ALLYL ALCOHOL

Allyl alcohol, C 3 H 5 OH, earlier came into prominence as a toxic substance through the belief that its presence in wood alcohol (methyl alcohol) as an impurity largely accounted for the toxicity of the latter substance. Allyl alcohol may be present in natural methyl alcohol in such quantities as 0.5 per cent. This attempt to shift the major responsibility for wood alcohol poisoning to its impurities proved to be unwarranted. It is now known that pure synthetic methyl alcohol possesses toxic properties essentially equal to those of the natural variety. Genuine opportunities for injury from allyl alcohol may be found in the increasing use of this substance as an intermediate in the chemical and pharmaceutic industries. During the past year a number of workers have been damaged from exposure to allyl alcohol vapors, which fact prompted a limited experimental investigation, here reported. Earlier investigations have been reported by