ABSTRACT
Jet Propulsion Fuel-8 (JP-8) is widely used, and like all hydrocarbon fuels, there is potential for toxicity from inhalation, dermal, and oral exposures. Most toxicity studies have been accomplished with inhalation or oral exposures and, as a result, assessing systemic toxicity from cutaneous exposures requires estimating the rate of penetration of the fuel through the skin and relating skin exposures to the other routes. Repeated exposures are much more likely to result in local toxicity such as skin sensitization, skin cancer, or skin irritation. Effects from very high cutaneous exposures in laboratory animals cause systemic effects similar to the other routes. Methods to assess irritation include measurements of skin condition, release of inflammatory cytokines, and in vitro studies of the primary epidermal cell. A route-to-route extrapolation based on known systemic toxicity suggests that small and brief exposures to areas of skin the size of both hands should not have toxic consequences systemically.
