Trichlormethine hydrochloride is a cytostatic agent in the treatment of cancer and arthritis; shows carcinogenic effects to humans.
Trichlormethine could be detected at a surface coverage of 0.01 monolayer, which corresponds to 20 ppm (mass/mass) for a soil having a surface area of 2.2 m2/g. TEA, the exhaustive hydrolysis product of trichlormethine, is detected at a surface coverage of 0.001 monolayer, which corresponds to 0.86 ppm[1].
Trichlormethine hydrochloride carries a genetic risk for the postmeiotic stages of spermatogenesis and is responsible for interference in the morphology of sperm heads through its action on spermatocytes. The toxic effects of trichlormethine hydrochloride are found to influence the body weight of mice, to reduce the relative weight of the testes, to damage spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubules, to be responsible for an appearance of multinucleate cells in the epididymides, and for an increased rate of abnormality of the heads of fully mature spermatozoa[2].
[1]. Gresham GL, et al. Identification of the nitrogen-based blister agents bis(2-chloroethyl)methylamine (HN-2) and tris(2-chloroethyl)amine (HN-3) and their hydrolysis products on soil using ion trap secondary ion mass spectrometry. J Mass Spectrom. 2000 Dec;35(12):1460-9. [2]. S?kora I, et al. Trichlormethine hydrochloride and correlation of its mutagenic and toxic effects on male germ cells in mice. Mutat Res. 1992 Apr;266(2):291-7.