Body & Beauty / Compounds / Methanol

Methanol on your skin: a safety profile

High risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Methanol is a severe systemic poison through a two-stage mechanism: (1) methanol itself causes CNS depression (similar to ethanol but weaker); (2) oxidation by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) produces formaldehyde, then formate/formic acid → profound metabolic acidosis and selective optic nerve damage. As little as 10 mL can cause permanent blindness; 30–240 mL can be lethal. The latent period between ingestion and severe toxicity is 12–24 hours (while formate accumulates), during which the patient may appear only mildly intoxicated — critically delaying diagnosis. Sources: windshield washer fluid (often 30–50% methanol), fuel additives, industrial solvent, illicit alcohol (adulteration of homebrew spirits in mass-poisoning events). Antidotes: fomepizole (4-MP, competitive ADH inhibitor; preferred) or ethanol (ADH competitive substrate); hemodialysis for severe cases. OSHA PEL 200 ppm.

What is methanol?

Also known as: methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, Methylol, Wood naphtha.

IUPAC name
methanol
CAS number
67-56-1
Molecular formula
CH4O
Molecular weight
32.042 g/mol
SMILES
CO
PubChem CID
887

Risk for people

High risk

Methanol is a severe systemic poison through a two-stage mechanism: (1) methanol itself causes CNS depression (similar to ethanol but weaker); (2) oxidation by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) produces formaldehyde, then formate/formic acid → profound metabolic acidosis and selective optic nerve damage. As little as 10 mL can cause permanent blindness; 30–240 mL can be lethal. The latent period between ingestion and severe toxicity is 12–24 hours (while formate accumulates), during which the patient may appear only mildly intoxicated — critically delaying diagnosis. Sources: windshield washer fluid (often 30–50% methanol), fuel additives, industrial solvent, illicit alcohol (adulteration of homebrew spirits in mass-poisoning events). Antidotes: fomepizole (4-MP, competitive ADH inhibitor; preferred) or ethanol (ADH competitive substrate); hemodialysis for severe cases. OSHA PEL 200 ppm.

Regulatory consensus

9 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Methanol. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
OSHA—PEL 200 ppm
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: negative, 3 positive / 13 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Genetox—Genotoxicity: positive (Ames: negative, 3 positive / 13 negative reports)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Serious eye damage/eye irritation - Category 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Category 2 (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Skin Sensitization: Not classified (score: low)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—Eye Irritation: Category 6.4A (Category 2A) (score: high)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—skin sensitisation: in vivo (non-LLNA): Not likely to be sensitizing (score: low)
EPA CTX / Skin-Eye—eye irritation: in vivo: Studies Indicate No Significant Irritation (score: low)

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter methanol

  • Industrial Facilities — Manufacturing plants, Chemical storage areas, Waste treatment sites
  • Occupational Environments — Factories, Warehouses, Transportation vehicles
  • Fragrance — perfume, cologne, scented personal care products, household fragrance products, candles
    Identified in Fragrance Ingredient Safety Priority Research database (2,325 ingredients)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Methanol:

  • Fragrance-free formulations
    Trade-offs: Consumer preference for scented products
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Essential oil-based fragrances (with disclosure)
    Trade-offs: Natural does not mean safe — many essential oils are skin sensitizers
    Relative cost: 2-5×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain methanol?

Methanol appears in: Manufacturing plants (Industrial facilities); Chemical storage areas (Industrial facilities); Factories (Occupational environments); Warehouses (Occupational environments); perfume (Fragrance).

Why do regulators disagree about methanol?

Methanol has been classified by 9 agencies including OSHA, EPA CTX / Genetox, EPA CTX / Genetox, EPA CTX / Skin-Eye, EPA CTX / Skin-Eye, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Methanol in the body app

Look up products containing methanol, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (4)
  1. ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Methanol (1999) — report
  2. CDC: Methanol Toxicity — Clinical and Emergency Response Guidance (2020) — report
  3. US EPA IRIS: Methanol — Reference Concentration and Toxicological Review (2013) — regulatory
  4. ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: Methanol and Isopropanol Toxicosis in Companion Animals (2019) — report

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →