Decontamination of the skin of swine following phenol exposure: A comparison of the relative efficacy of water versus polyethylene glycol/industrial methylated spirits

Decontamination of the Skin of Swine following Phenol Exposure: A Comparison of the Relative Efficacy of Water Versus Polyethylene Glycol/Industrial Methylated Spirits. Pullin, T. G., Pinkerton, M. N., Johnston, R. V., and Kilian, D. J. (1978). Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 43 , 199–206. Evaluation of water versus polyethylene glycol-300/industrial methylated spirits (PEG-300/IMS) in decontaminating the skin of swine following acute phenol exposure showed no essential difference in the efficacies of the, two solvents. Phenol was applied at the dose of 500 mg/kg, over 35–40% of the surface area, and left in place 1 min. The animals were decontaminated for 15 min with either a PEG-300/IMS swabbing procedure or a plain-water shower. Animals similarly exposed, but not decontaminated, were used as controls. Results were judged in terms of absorbed phenol, measured as plasma phenol concentrations, by gas chromatography. Because water is usually the more readily available of the two solvents, decontamination with water appears to be the emergency procedure of choicefollowing acute phenol exposure.