ABSTRACT
Benzyl alcohol may enter the environment through fugitive emissions during its production, and during its formulation and use in commercial products. It may also enter the environment from the exhaust of motor vehicles. If released to soil, benzyl alcohol is expected to display high mobility and readily leach through soil. Benzyl alcohol occurs either free or as an ester in oils of jasmine, castoreum, gardenia, and ylang-ylang, and in balsams of Peru and Tolu. Benzyl alcohol finds use in photographic developers for color films, and as a degreasing agent in rug cleaners. If released to soil, benzyl alcohol is expected to display high mobility and readily leach through soil. f released to water, benzyl alcohol is expected to undergo microbial degradation under aerobic [3,5,21,31,33,34,46] and anaerobic [4,24,42] conditions. Benzyl alcohol underwent 70% biological oxygen demand in 5 days under aerobic conditions using an acclimated mixed microbial culture.
