Danger GHS02GHS08GHS07 NOAEL Data IARC Group 3 Prop 65 REACH Registered Cosmetic Ingredient

Toluene

Also known as: Benzene, methyl-, 1-Methylbenzene, Caswell No. 859, EINECS 203-625-9, EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 080601 (+13 more)

CAS 108-88-3

Toluene (CAS 108-88-3) is a chemical substance with GHS signal word Danger; key hazard signal: H225; H361d ***; H304; H336; H373 **; H315. Key regulatory status: California Proposition 65, REACH registered, 60 regulatory/inventory lists, cosmetic ingredient cross-reference; source data from ECHA CLP, EPA ToxValDB, EPA CPDat, AICIS, SCCS, IARC, ECHA REACH, CA Prop 65, ILO ICSC, OSHA, EPA TRI.

View cosmetic safety profile for Toluene Cosmetic →

Cross-Vertical Regulatory Divergence

Toluene is classified GHS Danger (H225, H361d, H304, H336, H373, H315) in the chemicals database but is restricted in EU cosmetics.

SOURCE Cross-vertical comparison Cosmetics: ingredients.eu_status; Chemicals: eu_clp_annex_vi.signal_word/hazard_statement_code

SOURCE noael studies public

NOAEL studies

100

SOURCE chemical inventory jurisdictions

Regulatory lists

SOURCE eu clp annex vi

GHS signal

Danger

Chemical Identity

CAS, identifiers, formula, and alternate names for the matched substance record.

SOURCE DSSTox identifiers 24 fields

Name

Toluene

CAS Number

108-88-3

DTXSID

DTXSID7021360

Molecular Formula

C7H8

InChI Key

YXFVVABEGXRONW-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Monoisotopic Mass

92.0626

Synonyms

Benzene, methyl-1-MethylbenzeneCaswell No. 859EINECS 203-625-9EPA Pesticide Chemical Code 080601Methane, phenyl-NCI-C07272RCRA waste number U220Tolu-SolTolueenToluoloUNII-3FPU23BG52

IARC Carcinogen Classification

Carcinogenic hazard classification from IARC monograph evaluations.

SOURCE IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans 1 records

Group	Meaning	Evaluated	Volume
Group 3	Not classifiable	1998	47, 71

California Proposition 65

California OEHHA listing status and toxicity category.

SOURCE California OEHHA Proposition 65 List 2 records

Chemical	Toxicity Type	Cancer	Developmental	Listed
-	developmental	No	Yes	-
-	female	No	No	-

GHS / CLP Classification

EU harmonized hazard classification, hazard statements, pictograms, and signal word.

SOURCE EU CLP Annex VI (ECHA) 1 classifications

Hazard Class	H-Statements	Pictograms	Signal
Flam. Liq. 2; Repr. 2; Asp. Tox. 1; STOT SE 3; STOT RE 2 *; Skin Irrit. 2	H225; H361d *; H304; H336; H373 ; H315	GHS02; GHS08; GHS07	Danger

ICSC Chemical Safety

International Chemical Safety Card hazard and exposure summary.

SOURCE ILO/WHO International Chemical Safety Cards 1 records

Field	Value
GHS Signal Word	DANGER
GHS Hazard Statements	Highly flammable liquid and vapour May be fatal if swallowed and enters airways Causes skin irritation May cause drowsiness or dizziness Suspected of damaging fertility or the unborn child May cause damage to nervous system through prolonged or repeated exposure Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects
Short-term Effects	The substance is irritating to the skin. The substance is mildly irritating to the eyes. The substance may cause effects on the central nervous system. If this liquid is swallowed, aspiration into the lungs may result in chemical pneumonitis. Exposure at high levels could cause cardiac dysrhythmia and unconsciousness.
Long-term Effects	The substance defats the skin, which may cause dryness or cracking. The substance may have effects on the central nervous system. Exposure to the substance may increase noise-induced hearing loss. Animal tests show that this substance possibly causes toxicity to human reproduction or development. May cause colour vision impairment.
Routes of Exposure	The substance can be absorbed into the body by inhalation, through the skin and by ingestion.

OSHA Exposure Limits

Occupational exposure limits from OSHA, NIOSH, and ACGIH rows.

SOURCE OSHA / NIOSH / ACGIH occupational exposure limits 12 records

Agency	Metric	Value	ppm	mg/m3	Skin
OSHA	TWA	200 ppm	200	-	N
OSHA	CEILING	300 ppm; 500 ppm (Peak) [10 min maximum in an 8 hr shift]	300	-	N
NIOSH	TWA	100 ppm (375 mg/m³)	100	375	N
NIOSH	STEL	150 ppm (560 mg/m³)	150	560	N
ACGIH	TWA	20 ppm [2006]	20	-	N
CAL/OSHA	TWA	10 ppm (37 mg/m³)	10	37	Y
CAL/OSHA	STEL	150 ppm (560 mg/m³)	150	560	Y
CAL/OSHA	CEILING	500 ppm	500	-	Y
NIOSH	IDLH	500 ppm	500	-	-
AIHA	ERPG-1	50 ppm	50	-	-
AIHA	ERPG-2	300 ppm	300	-	-
AIHA	ERPG-3	1000 ppm	1000	-	-

Functional Uses

Industrial and product-use categories associated with this substance.

SOURCE EPA CPDat 60 records

SolventAntioxidantPropellants, non-motive (blowing agents)Cleaning agentAdhesion/cohesion promoterFragranceChemical reaction regulatorSolubility enhancer

Regulatory Lists

Inventory, screening, and regulatory list matches from public chemical databases.

SOURCE EPA CPDat 60 records

List	Keyword	Source
Cleaning products and household care - shoes; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
Cleaning products and household care - shoes; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
Arts and crafts/Office supplies - general arts and crafts supplies - arts and crafts paint; detected; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
inert_ingredient; non_food_use; Pesticides	EPA	CPCat
Arts and crafts/Office supplies - general arts and crafts supplies; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Cons electronics mech appliances and machinery; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Cons electronics mech appliances and machinery; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
Cons electronics mech appliances and machinery; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
artificial_saliva; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
artificial_sweat; detected; emissions; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
Indirect additives food contact (10/2018)	FDA	United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Furniture and Furnishings	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Furniture and Furnishings	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
consumer_product; detected; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
consumer_product; detected; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
OEHHA Proposition 65 (3/2019)	STATE OF CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY	OEHHA Proposition 65 List
detected; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
Europe; nondetect; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
detected; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
detected; Europe; Toys and children's products	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Vehicle - car interior	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Vehicle - car interior	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Vehicle - car interior	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; detected; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Arts and crafts/Office supplies - general arts and crafts supplies - arts and crafts paint; Batteries; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; Cons electronics mech appliances and machinery; emissions; Europe; Other direct contact consumer goods; Other indirect contact consumer goods; Toys and children's products	Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark; Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA
air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe	Danish Environmental Protection Agency	Danish EPA

NOAEL Studies

Toxicology endpoints rendered from public NOAEL study rows.

SOURCE NOAEL studies Showing 50 of 100 studies

Value	Unit	Endpoint	Route	Species	Source
=45.1	mg/m3	BMCL (05)	inhalation	Human	ToxValDB_Cal_OEHHA_REL_derivations
=431	mg/kg bw/day	BMD	oral	Rat	ToxValDB_IRIS
=238	mg/kg bw/day	BMDL	oral	Rat	ToxValDB_IRIS
=238	mg/kg/day	BMDL	oral	-	EPA_IRIS_iris_rfd_systems.csv
SQEinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCinhalation=13000; oral=7000	ug/day	California Proposition 65 MADL	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEdevelopmental	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEdevelopmental	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEdevelopmental	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
SQEdevelopmental	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCfemale	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCfemale	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCfemale	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
LCfemale	listing type	California Proposition 65 listing	-	-	California Proposition 65
17.66	uL/min/10^6 cells	Clint	-	Human	NTP_ICE_adme_parameters
95.77	uL/min/10^6 cells	Clint	-	Rat	NTP_ICE_adme_parameters
=192	mg/m3	DNEL local	inhalation	Human	ToxValDB_GESTIS_DNEL
9	unitless	Draize rabbit irritation score	Ocular	Rabbit	NTP_ICE_eye_irritation
3	unitless	EPA Classification	Ocular	Rabbit	NTP_ICE_eye_irritation
3FPU23BG52	UNII	FDA UNII substance identifier	-	-	openFDA substances
3FPU23BG52	UNII	FDA UNII substance identifier	-	-	openFDA substances
3FPU23BG52	UNII	FDA UNII substance identifier	-	-	openFDA substances
3FPU23BG52	UNII	FDA UNII substance identifier	-	-	openFDA substances
0.3	fraction	Fu	-	Human	NTP_ICE_adme_parameters
0.3433	fraction	Fu	-	Rat	NTP_ICE_adme_parameters
3	IARC group	IARC carcinogenicity classification	-	-	IARC Monographs
3	IARC group	IARC carcinogenicity classification	-	-	IARC Monographs
3	IARC group	IARC carcinogenicity classification	-	-	IARC Monographs
3	unitless	IARC group	-	-	NTP_ICE_cancer
0.02	%/sec	Intensity	Ocular	-	NTP_ICE_eye_irritation
25.7	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
28.1	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
30	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
37.662	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
45.9477	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
49	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
68.9215	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
100.5576	mg/L	LC50	Inhalation	-	NTP_ICE_acute_inhalation
=636	mg/kg bw	LD50	oral	Rat	NTP_ICE_acute_oral
>2600	mg/kg bw	LD50	oral	Rat	NTP_ICE_acute_oral
>5000	mg/kg bw	LD50	oral	Rat	NTP_ICE_acute_oral
=5580	mg/kg bw	LD50	oral	Rat	NTP_ICE_acute_oral
<7500	mg/kg bw	LD50	oral	Rat	NTP_ICE_acute_oral
=376.857	mg/m3	LEL	inhalation	Rat	ToxValDB_EPA_TSCA_8e

Showing 50 of 100 studies

REACH Registration

Registration status from the ECHA REACH registered substances database.

SOURCE ECHA (EU) 1 records

Status	Name	EC Number	Link
Registered	Toluene	203-625-9	ECHA overview →

EPA Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

TRI hazard and reporting flags for the matched chemical.

SOURCE EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemical list 1 records

Chemical	Category	Flags
Toluene	-	-

Australian Status (AICIS)

Australian industrial chemicals inventory status and applicable conditions.

SOURCE AICIS inventory 1 records

Inventory Status

listed

SCCS Opinions

EU Scientific Committee opinions tied to the matched substance.

SOURCE EU SCCS 2 opinions

Opinion	Date	Conclusion	Max Conc.	Concerns
SCCP/1129/07	18 December 2007	not safe at high concentrations	25% in nail varnish not safe; lower concentrations may be acceptable	Neurotoxicity; reproductive toxicity; CNS effects; volatile organic compound; CMR concerns at cosmetic use levels
SCCP/0985/06	10 October 2006	not safe at high concentrations	25% not safe in nail varnish	Neurotoxicity; reproductive/developmental toxicity; high volatility; CMR concerns

Cosmetic Safety Profile

Same-CAS cosmetic ingredient record for cross-vertical context.

SOURCE CosIng / Ingredients DB

EU Status

restricted

Max

Pharmaceutical Data

Same-CAS pharmaceutical records from drug and bioactivity sources.

SOURCE EMBL-EBI ChEMBL TOLUENE

ChEMBL Phase

Adverse Events

Bioactivity

View full pharmaceutical profile →

Food Safety Data

Same-CAS food additive, ADI, and GRAS records where available.

SOURCE EFSA / FDA GRAS 1 records

ADI: NOT SPECIFIED mg/kg bw

View full food safety profile →

Cannabis Data

Same-CAS cannabis compliance and lab records where available.

SOURCE Cannabis regulatory / lab data efsa substances

1 cannabis record found in efsa substances.

View full cannabis profile →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the GHS hazard classification for Toluene?

Toluene (CAS 108-88-3) is classified under EU CLP Annex VI as Flam. Liq. 2; Repr. 2; Asp. Tox. 1; STOT SE 3; STOT RE 2 *; Skin Irrit. 2 with signal word Danger. Hazard statements: H225; H361d ***; H304; H336; H373 **; H315. Source: EU CLP Annex VI (ECHA).

What is the NOAEL for Toluene?

Toluene has 100 NOAEL studies in the database. The lowest reported value is 0.2 mg/kg bw/day via oral in Human. Source: ToxValDB_ATSDR_MRLs.

What regulatory lists include Toluene?

Toluene appears on 23 regulatory/inventory lists including Cleaning products and household care - shoes; Europe, Arts and crafts/Office supplies - general arts and crafts supplies - arts and crafts paint; detected; Europe, air; Cleaning products and household care - air freshener; detected; emissions; Europe, and 20 more. Source: EPA CPDat.

Is Toluene a carcinogen according to IARC?

Toluene is classified by IARC as Group 3 — not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (evaluated 1998). Source: IARC Monographs on the Identification of Carcinogenic Hazards to Humans.

Is Toluene on the California Proposition 65 list?

Yes, Toluene is listed under California Proposition 65 for developmental. Source: California OEHHA Proposition 65.

What are the occupational exposure limits for Toluene?

Occupational exposure limits for Toluene are set by OSHA, NIOSH, ACGIH. 12 limit values from official agencies are documented in the database. Source: OSHA, NIOSH, ACGIH.

Is Toluene used in cosmetics?

Yes, Toluene is also indexed as a cosmetic ingredient under the name Toluene Cosmetic. View the full cosmetic safety profile on the ingredient page for detailed safety data, SCCS opinions, and regulatory status.

Where does the safety data for Toluene come from?

Safety data is sourced from ECHA CLP Annex VI, EPA ToxValDB, EPA CPDat, AICIS (Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme), EPA DSSTox, IARC Monographs, ECHA REACH, California Proposition 65, ILO/WHO ICSC, OSHA/NIOSH/ACGIH, EPA Toxics Release Inventory, CosIng / Ingredients DB, ChEMBL / DailyMed, EFSA / FDA GRAS, cannabis regulatory/lab databases. All data traces to primary regulatory sources and is updated from official government databases.

Does Toluene have different safety status in cosmetics vs industrial chemicals?

Toluene is classified GHS Danger (H225, H361d, H304, H336, H373, H315) in the chemicals database but is restricted in EU cosmetics.

Is Toluene used outside industrial chemicals?

Toluene also appears in cosmetics, pharmaceutical, food safety, cannabis databases.