In the Know: Naphthalene

Naphthalene, a main ingredient in producing mothballs, is a chemical compound widely used as an insecticide and pest repellent.

Made from crude oil or coal tar, this crystalline can be colorless but also range in color from solid white to brown. It can be found in car exhaust, cigarette smoke, or smoke from forest fires.

Naphthalene, which was first registered as a pesticide in the United States in 1948, is primarily used to control clothes moth and silverfish through vapors that, in airtight containers, can kill insects. It is also used to repel animals such as squirrels and bats. Some hanging toilet bowl deodorizers may also contain naphthalene.

Naphthalene is considered moderately toxic to some species of fish, water fleas and Pacific oysters, and slightly toxic to green algae.

Apart from mothballs, this toxic and active ingredient is also used in the production of plastics, dyes, resins, lubricants and fuels.

Exposure to naphthalene vapors may result in headache, nausea, dizziness or vomiting. Children who accidentally consume mothballs may also develop diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain and painful urination with discolored urine.

Breathing in napthalene vapors or consuming the product may result in hemolytic anemia, which occurs when red blood cells break apart and fail to carry oxygen through the body.

When naphthalene enters the body, it breaks down to alpha-naphthol, which is linked to the development of hemolytic anemia. Kidney and liver damage may occur as alpha-naphthol and other metabolites are excreted as urine.

The World Health Organization has found naphthalene as possibly carcinogenic to humans, based on animal studies.—Rafael L. Antonio, Inquirer Research

(Source: National Pesticide Information Center)

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