Editing Solvent (section)

==Health effects==
{{See also | Substance-induced psychosis}}
General health hazards associated with solvent exposure include toxicity to the nervous system, reproductive damage, liver and kidney damage, respiratory impairment, cancer, hearing loss,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2018-124/pdfs/2018-124.pdf |title=Preventing Hearing Loss Caused by Chemical (Ototoxicity) and Noise Exposure |date=2018-03-08 |access-date=2024-11-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16938795/ | pmid=16938795 | date=2006 | last1=Fuente | first1=A. | last2=McPherson | first2=B. | title=Organic solvents and hearing loss: The challenge for audiology | journal=International Journal of Audiology | volume=45 | issue=7 | pages=367–381 | doi=10.1080/14992020600753205 }}</ref> and [[dermatitis]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/solvents/index.html |publisher = U.S. Department of Labor |website= Occupational Safety & Health Administration |title = Solvents|url-status = live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315034707/https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/solvents/index.html |archive-date=15 March 2016 }}</ref>

===Acute exposure===
Many solvents{{which?|date=November 2023}} can lead to a sudden loss of consciousness if [[inhalation|inhaled]] in large amounts.{{cn|date=November 2023}} Solvents like [[diethyl ether]] and [[chloroform]] have been used in medicine as [[anesthetics]], [[sedatives]], and [[hypnotics]] for a long time.{{when?|date=March 2024}} Many solvents (e.g. from [[gasoline]] or solvent-based glues) are abused recreationally in [[Volatile substance abuse|glue sniffing]], often with harmful long-term health effects such as [[neurotoxicity]] or [[cancer]].  Fraudulent substitution of [[1,5-pentanediol]] by the psychoactive [[1,4-butanediol]] by a subcontractor caused the [[Bindeez]] product recall.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/news/national/recall-for-toy-that-turns-into-drug/2007/11/06/1194329225773.html|title=National: Recall ordered for toy that turns into drug|website=www.theage.com.au|language=en|last = Rood|first = David|date=7 November 2007}}</ref>

[[Ethanol]] (grain alcohol) is a widely used and abused [[psychoactive drug]]. If ingested, the so-called "toxic alcohols" (other than ethanol) such as [[methanol]], [[1-propanol]], and [[ethylene glycol]] metabolize into toxic aldehydes and acids, which cause potentially fatal [[metabolic acidosis]].<ref name="Kraut_2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kraut JA, Mullins ME | title = Toxic Alcohols | journal = The New England Journal of Medicine | volume = 378 | issue = 3 | pages = 270–280 | date = January 2018 | pmid = 29342392 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMra1615295 | s2cid = 36652482 }}</ref> The commonly available alcohol solvent methanol can cause permanent blindness or death if ingested. The solvent [[2-Butoxyethanol|2-butoxyethanol]], used in [[fracking fluid]]s, can cause [[hypotension]] and metabolic acidosis.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Hung T, Dewitt CR, Martz W, Schreiber W, Holmes DT | title = Fomepizole fails to prevent progression of acidosis in 2-butoxyethanol and ethanol coingestion | journal = Clinical Toxicology | volume = 48 | issue = 6 | pages = 569–71 | date = July 2010 | pmid = 20560787 | doi = 10.3109/15563650.2010.492350 | s2cid = 23257894 }}</ref>

===Chronic exposure===
{{main|Chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy}}
Chronic solvent exposures are often caused by the inhalation of solvent vapors, or the ingestion of diluted solvents, repeated over the course of an extended period.

Some solvents can damage internal organs like the [[liver]], the [[kidney]]s, the [[nervous system]], or the [[Human brain|brain]]. The cumulative brain effects of long-term or repeated exposure to some solvents is called [[chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy]] (CSE).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van der Laan |first1=Gert |last2=Sainio |first2=Markku |date=2012-08-01 |title=Chronic Solvent induced Encephalopathy: A step forward |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161813X12000885 |journal=NeuroToxicology |series=Neurotoxicity and Neurodegeneration: Local Effect and Global Impact |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=897–901 |doi=10.1016/j.neuro.2012.04.012 |pmid=22560998 |bibcode=2012NeuTx..33..897V |issn=0161-813X}}</ref>

Chronic exposure to organic solvents in the work environment can produce a range of adverse neuropsychiatric effects. For example, occupational exposure to organic solvents has been associated with higher numbers of painters suffering from [[alcoholism]].<ref name="pmid1606027">{{cite journal | vauthors = Lundberg I, Gustavsson A, Högberg M, Nise G | title = Diagnoses of alcohol abuse and other neuropsychiatric disorders among house painters compared with house carpenters | journal = British Journal of Industrial Medicine | volume = 49 | issue = 6 | pages = 409–15 | date = June 1992 | pmid = 1606027 | pmc = 1012122 | doi = 10.1136/oem.49.6.409 }}</ref> Ethanol has a [[synergy|synergistic]] effect when taken in combination with many solvents; for instance, a combination of [[toluene]]/[[benzene]] and ethanol causes greater [[nausea]]/[[vomiting]] than either substance alone.

Some organic solvents are known or suspected to be cataractogenic. A mixture of [[aromatic hydrocarbons]], [[aliphatic hydrocarbons]], [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohols]], [[Ester|esters]], [[Ketone|ketones]], and [[Terpene|terpenes]] were found to greatly increase the risk of developing [[cataract]]s in the lens of the eye.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Raitta C, Husman K, Tossavainen A | title = Lens changes in car painters exposed to a mixture of organic solvents | journal = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv für Klinische und Experimentelle Ophthalmologie. Albrecht von Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology | volume = 200 | issue = 2 | pages = 149–56 | date = August 1976 | pmid = 1086605 | doi = 10.1007/bf00414364 | s2cid = 31344706 }}</ref>

===Environmental contamination===
A major pathway of induced health effects arises from spills or leaks of solvents, especially [[Organochlorine chemistry|chlorinated solvents]], that reach the underlying soil. Since solvents readily migrate substantial distances, the creation of widespread [[soil contamination]] is not uncommon; this is particularly a health risk if [[aquifer]]s are affected.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matteucci |first1=Federica |last2=Ercole |first2=Claudia |last3=del Gallo |first3=Maddalena |date=2015 |title=A study of chlorinated solvent contamination of the aquifers of an industrial area in central Italy: a possibility of bioremediation |journal=Frontiers in Microbiology |volume=6 |page=924 |doi=10.3389/fmicb.2015.00924 |pmid=26388862 |pmc=4556989 |issn=1664-302X |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Vapor intrusion]] can occur from sites with extensive subsurface solvent contamination.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Forand SP, Lewis-Michl EL, Gomez MI | title = Adverse birth outcomes and maternal exposure to trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene through soil vapor intrusion in New York State | journal = Environmental Health Perspectives | volume = 120 | issue = 4 | pages = 616–21 | date = April 2012 | pmid = 22142966 | pmc = 3339451 | doi = 10.1289/ehp.1103884 }}</ref>