Mineral oil

Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name mineral oil by itself is imprecise, having been used for many specific oils over the past few centuries. Other names, similarly imprecise, include white oil, paraffin oil, liquid paraffin (a highly refined medical grade), paraffinum liquidum (Latin), and liquid petroleum. Baby oil is a perfumed mineral oil. Most often, mineral oil is a liquid by-product of refining crude oil to make gasoline and other petroleum products. This type of mineral oil is a transparent, colorless oil, composed mainly of alkanes and cycloalkanes, related to petroleum jelly. It has a density of around 0.8 g/cm3. Some of the imprecision in the definition of the names (e.g., 'mineral oil', 'white oil') reflects usage by buyers and sellers who did not know, and usually did not need to care about, the precise chemical makeup. Merriam-Webster states the first use of the term “mineral oil” was 1771. Prior to the late 19th century, the chemical science to determine such makeup was unavailable in any case. A similar lexical situation occurred with the term 'white metal'. 'Mineral oil', sold widely and cheaply in the USA, is not sold as such in Britain. Instead British pharmacologists use the terms 'Paraffinum perliquidum' for light mineral oil and 'Paraffinum liquidum' or 'Paraffinum subliquidum' for somewhat thicker (more viscous) varieties. The term 'Paraffinum Liquidum' is often seen on the ingredient lists of baby oil and cosmetics. British aromatherapists commonly use the term 'white mineral oil'. In lubricating oils, mineral oil is termed from groups 1 to 2 worldwide and group 3 in certain regions. This is because the high end of group 3 mineral lubricating oils are so pure that they exhibit properties similar to polyalphaolefin - PAO oils (group 4 synthetics). The World Health Organization classifies untreated or mildly treated mineral oils as Group 1 carcinogens to humans; highly refined oils are classified as Group 3, meaning they are not suspected to be carcinogenic but available information is not sufficient to classify them as harmless. The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) carried out a risk assessment on the findings of a survey made in 2011 on risks due to migration of components from printing inks used on carton-board packaging, including mineral oils, into food. The FSA did not identify any specific food safety concerns due to inks. People can be exposed to mineral oil mist in the workplace by breathing it in, skin contact, or eye contact. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set the legal limit for mineral oil mist exposure in the workplace as 5 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has set a recommended exposure limit of 5 mg/m3 over an 8-hour workday and 10 mg/m3 short-term exposure. Levels of 2500 mg/m3 and higher are indicated as immediately dangerous to life and health. However, current toxicological data does not contain any evidence of irreversible health effects due to short term exposure at any level; the current value of 2500 mg/m3 is indicated as being arbitrary. Mineral oil is used as a laxative to alleviate constipation by retaining water in stool and the intestines. Although generally considered safe, as noted above, there is a concern of mist inhalation leading to serious health conditions such as pneumonia.