Nonenzymatic hydrolysis of 1,2:3,4‐diepoxybutane: A kinetic study including pH, temperature, and ion effects.

1,3‐Butadiene is a carcinogenic and mutagenic air pollutant metabolized to butane epoxides, among which 1,2:3,4‐diepoxybutane (DEB) exhibits the highest genotoxicity. DEB is also formed by 1,3‐butadiene oxidation in the air, producing a direct environmental and occupational exposure. In this paper, we studied the kinetics of the nonenzymatic hydrolysis of DEB at a wide range of pH and temperature, including the catalytic effect of ionic species. The compound degradation involved a general and specific acid‐base catalysis of the epoxide ring hydrolysis. DEB had the greatest stability at pH 5–9, when the rates of acid‐catalyzed and base‐catalyzed hydrolysis are negligible and the neutral hydrolysis predominates. The capability of the buffer anions to accelerate the DEB decay increased in the order H2PO4− < HCO3− < CH3COO− < HPO42− < and CO32−. The Arrhenius equation well described the influence of temperature on the acid‐catalyzed, base‐catalyzed, and neutral hydrolysis rate constants. According to the obtained hydrolysis model coupled with the found thermodynamic parameters, the half‐life of DEB in natural fresh waters spans from 2 days at 30°C to 31 days at 0°C, but in the laboratory waste adjusted to pH 1or 13, the half‐life shortens to 2–3 h at 20°C. Therefore, the results of the paper help to assess the risk of exposure to the genotoxic action of DEB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]