Selected Chloroalkyl Ethers - Enviromnental Health Criteria 201

Bis(2-chloroethyl) ether (BCEE), bis(chloromethyl) ether (BCME) and chioromethyl methyl ether (CMME) are chemicals from a large class known as chloroalkyl ethers. The three ethers are colourless volatile liquids at room temperature having characteristic odours. The vapour pressure of these three compounds is high. The solubility of BCEE is 1.7% in water and its octanollwater partition coefficient is 1.46. The a-chloroalkyl ethers BCME and CMME are reactive compounds, hydrolysing rapidly in aqueous media (with halflives of approximately 38 seconds and <0.007 seconds, respectively); hydrolysis of the more stable -ch1oroether BCEE is slower (with a half-life in water of about 20 years).