Prediction of toxicity of the usual stabilizers in nitrocellulose based propellants and their main degradation products

Abstract

This work aims to establish a hierarchy of risks of the stabilizers used in nitrocellulose-based propellants concerning to toxicity, carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. Four stabilizers - diphenylamine, ethyl centralite, akardite-II and 2-nitrodiphenylamine - and their products of degradation were investigated. The prediction of the toxicity was based on the analysis of their structures with the software Lazar, using the OpenTox framework. Our results provide a quantitative reference of the risks involved in the manufacturing and disposal of propellants due to the use of such stabilizers.