ABSTRACT
No data are available pertaining to either artificial or natural sources of environmental release of 1,3-dioxane. Limited prediction of environmental fate is based entirely on physical properties, chemical structure and analogy to similar compounds since experimental data are not available. If released to the atmosphere, 1,3-dioxane is expected to exist in the gas phase where it will be degraded relatively rapidly (estimated half-life of 2 days) by reaction with photochemically formed hydroxyl radicals. If released to soil, leaching may be possible since 1,3-dioxane is miscible in water. If released to water, volatilization is expected to be slow based on estimated half-lives of 7.2 days, 77.5 days, and 35.5 months from a shallow model river, a model environmental pond, and Lake Zurich, respectively. Aquatic hydrolysis, bioconcentration, and adsorption to sediment are not expected to be important.
