Acetone

                             
CAS number . . . . . . . . . . . 67-64-1
NIOSH REL. . . . . . . . . . . . 250 ppm (590 mg/m3) TWA
Current OSHA PEL . . . . . . . . 1,000 ppm (2,400 mg/m3) TWA
1989 OSHA PEL. . . . . . . . . . 750 ppm (1,800 mg/m3) TWA, 1,000 ppm (2,400
                                 mg/m3) STEL
1993-1994 ACGIH TLV. . . . . . . 750 ppm (1,780 mg/m3) TWA, 1,000 ppm (2,380
                                 mg/m3) STEL
Description of substance . . . . Colorless liquid with a fragrant, mint-like
                                 odor.
LEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5% (10% LEL, 2,500 ppm)
Original (SCP) IDLH. . . . . . . 20,000 ppm
Basis for original (SCP) IDLH. . There is no evidence in the available
                                 toxicological data that acetone presents 
                                 an IDLH hazard below the lower explosive
                                 limit (LEL) of 25,000 ppm.  Because Patty
                                 [1963] reported that a 1.5-hour exposure to
                                 20,256 ppm is narcotic for mice, 20,000 ppm
                                 has been chosen as the IDLH.
Existing short-term exposure . . National Research Council [NRC 1984]
guideline                        Emergency Exposure Guidance Levels (EEGLs):
                                      1-hour EEGL:   8,500 ppm
                                      24-hour EEGL:  1,000 ppm

ACUTE TOXICITY DATA

Lethal concentration data:


Adjusted LC50 LCLo 0.5-hr Derived Species Reference (ppm) (ppm) Time LC (CF) Value ______________________________________________________________________________ Mouse Flury and Wirth, ----- 45,455 1 hr 56,818 ppm (1.25) 5,682 ppm 1933 Rat Pozzani et al. 20,702 ----- 8 hr 51,755 ppm (2.5) 5,176 ppm 1959
Lethal dose data:
LD50 LDLo Derived Species Reference Route (mg/kg) (mg/kg) Adjusted LD Value ______________________________________________________________________________ Rat Freeman and Hayes oral 5,800 ----- 16,777 ppm 1,678 ppm 1985 Mouse Molodykh et al. oral 3,000 ----- 8,678 ppm 868 ppm 1980 Rabbit WHO 1980 oral 5,340 ----- 15,446 ppm 1,545 ppm
Other animal data. . . . . . . . RD50 (mouse), 77,516 ppm [Alarie 1981]. Human data . . . . . . . . . . . Volunteers experienced slight irritation at 300 ppm but 500 ppm was tolerated [Nelson et al. 1943]. Eye irritation, headache, lightheadedness, nasal irritation, and throat irritation were noted in workers exposed to concentrations considerably in excess of 1,000 ppm and perhaps as high as 6,500 ppm [Raleigh and McGee 1972]. No indications of toxicity were reported following exposures to 2,100 ppm for 8 hours/day [Haggard et al. 1944].

Revised IDLH: 2,500 ppm [LEL]
Basis for revised IDLH: Based on health considerations and acute inhalation toxicity data in humans [Haggard et al. 1944; Raleigh and McGee 1972] and animals [Flury and Wirth 1933; Pozzani et al. 1959], a value of about 5,000 ppm would have been appropriate for acetone. However, the revised IDLH for acetone is 2,500 ppm based strictly on safety considerations (i.e., being 10% of the lower explosive limit of 2.5%).

REFERENCES:

  1. Alarie Y [1981]. Dose-response analysis in animal studies: prediction of human responses. Environ Health Perspect 42:9-13.
  2. Flury F, Wirth W [1933]. Zur toxikologie der l”sungsmittel (Verschieden ester, aceton, methylalkohol). Arch Gewerbepath Gewerbehyg 5:1-90 (in German).
  3. Freeman JJ, Hayes EP [1985]. Acetone potentiation of acute acetonitrile toxicity in rats. J Toxicol Environ Health 15:609-621.
  4. Haggard HW, Greenberg LA, Turner Jmcc [1944]. The physiological principles governing the action of acetone together with determination of toxicity. J Ind Hyg Toxicol 26(5):133-151.
  5. Molodykh ZV, Buzykin BI, Kudrina MA, Sysoeva LP, Gazetdinova NG, Neklesova ID, Kitaev YP [1980]. Antimicrobial activity of some acyl halide arylhydrazones and carboxylic acid arylhydrazides. Pharm Chem J 14:162-169.
  6. Nelson K, Ege JF Jr, Ross M, Woodman LE, Silverman L [1943]. Sensory response to certain industrial solvent vapors. J Ind Hyg Toxicol 25(7):282-285.
  7. NRC [1984]. Emergency and continuous exposure limits for selected airborne contaminants. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, Committee on Toxicology, Board on Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, pp. 5-25.
  8. Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., p. 1788.
  9. Pozzani UC, Weil CS, Carpenter CP [1959]. The toxicological basis of threshold limit values: 5. The experimental inhalation of vapor mixtures by rats, with notes upon the relationship between single dose inhalation and single dose oral data. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 20:364-369.
  10. Raleigh RL, McGee WA [1972]. Effects of short, high-concentration exposures to acetone as determined by observation in the work area. J Occup Med 14(8):607-610.
  11. WHO [1970]. Acetone: biological data. In: Toxicological evaluation of some solvents and certain other substances. Food and Agriculture Organization Nutrition Meetings Report Series 48A. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations, World Health Organization, pp. 86-90.


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