Testicular and hematopoietic toxicity of 2-bromopropane, a substitute for ozone layer-depleting chlorofluorocarbons

In 1995, unexpected amenorrhea, oligozoospermia and anemia were discovered in Korean workers exposed to solvents containing 2-bromopropane which was a substitute for chlorofluorocarbon. We aimed to determine experimentally the testicular and hematopoietic toxicity of 2-bromopropane in male rats. Thirty-six Wistar male rats were divided into four groups of nine each. The rats were exposed to 300, 1,000 and 3,000 ppm 2-bromopropane or only fresh air, respectively, 8 hr a day, 7 days per week. The 300 ppm and 1,000 ppm groups were exposed for 9 weeks, but the 3,000 ppm group's exposure was discontinued and three rats in this group were dissected after 9-11 days exposure because of serious illness. The others were dissected at the end of the experiment. At 300 ppm or over, the testicular and epididymal weights per body weight, epididymal sperm count, motile sperm percentage and the number of erythrocytes and platelets had decreased compared to the control. Histopathologically, all types of germ cells decreased in the 300 ppm group. Germ cells were absent but Sertoli cells still remained in the 1,000 ppm and 3,000 ppm groups at the end of the experiment. Spermatogonia were absent and the number of spermatocytes decreased in the 3,000 ppm group rats sacrificed after 11 days' exposure. Sertoli cell vacuolations were marked in two of these three rats. Bone marrow was hypocellular in the 1,000 ppm group and in all the rats in the 3,000 ppm group. These results clearly showed that 2-bromopropane had a testicular and hematopoietic toxicity in male rats.