Antimony compounds (as Sb)

                     
CAS number . . . . . . . . . . . 7440-36-0 (Metal)
NIOSH REL. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
Current OSHA PEL . . . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
1989 OSHA PEL. . . . . . . . . . Same as current PEL
1993-1994 ACGIH TLV. . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
Description of substance . . . . Varies
Original (SCP) IDLH. . . . . . . 80 mg Sb/m3
Basis for original (SCP) IDLH. . AIHA [1959] reported that the severity of
                                 hazard is moderate to high for both acute and
                                 chronic exposures to antimony and its
                                 compounds.  Brieger et al. [1954] noted an
                                 apparent increase in heart abnormalities in
                                 workers chronically exposed to antimony
                                 trisulfide (0.6 to 5.5 mg/m3) and
                                 demonstrated heart injury in experimental
                                 animals.  The chosen IDLH is based on the
                                 report by Taylor [1966] that slightly delayed
                                 gastrointestinal disorders, including
                                 abdominal pain and persistent anorexia, were
                                 noted in workers briefly exposed to air
                                 containing up to 73 mg/m3 of antimony.
Short-term exposure guidelines . None developed

ACUTE TOXICITY DATA

Lethal concentration data:


Adjusted 0.5-hr Derived Species Reference (LC50) (LCLo) Time LC (CF) Value ______________________________________________________________________________ SbCl5 Mouse Chekunova and 720 mg/m3 ----- ? ? ? Minkina 1987 Rat Izmerov et al. 720 mg/m3 ----- 2 hr 469 mg Sb/m3 47 mg Sb/m3 1982
Lethal dose data:

LD50 LDLo Derived Species Reference Route (mg/kg) (mg/kg) Adjusted LD Value ______________________________________________________________________________ Sb Rat Coulston and oral 7,500 ----- 49,000 mg Sb/m3 4,900 mg Sb/m3 Korte 1975 Sb2O3 Rat Smyth and oral >20,000 ----- >117,600 mg Sb/m3 >11,760 mg Sb/m3 Carpenter 1948 SbCl5 Rat Arzamastev oral 1,115 ----- 3,179 mg Sb/m3 318 mg Sb/m3 1964 G.pig Arzamastev oral 900 ----- 2,566 mg Sb/m3 257 mg Sb/m3 1964
Human data . . . . . . . . . . . Antimony pentachloride (SbCl5) is considered to be the most toxic of the antimony chlorides [ACGIH 1991]. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) TLV for antimony is based on an analogy to hydrogen chloride [ACGIH 1991].

Revised IDLH: 50 mg Sb/m3
Basis for revised IDLH: The revised IDLH for antimony compounds is 50 mg Sb/m3 based on acute inhalation toxicity data in animals [Izmerov et al. 1982] and an analogy to hydrogen chloride [ACGIH 1991] which has a revised IDLH of 50 ppm (75 mg/m3).

REFERENCES:

  1. ACGIH [1991]. Antimony and compounds. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. 6th ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, pp. 73-75.
  2. AIHA [1959]. Antimony and its compounds (excepting stibine). In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc Q 20:515-516.
  3. Arzamastsev EV [1964]. Experimental substantiation of the permissible concentrations of tri- and pentavalent antimony in water bodies. Gig Sanit 29(12):16-21 (translated).
  4. Brieger H, Semisch CW, Stasney J, Piatek DA [1954]. Industrial antimony poisoning. Ind Med Surg 23:521-523.
  5. Chekunova MP, Minkina MA [1987]. Toxicity of pentachlorinated antimony in a chronic experiment. Gig Tr Prof Zabol 13(10):25-29 (in Russian).
  6. Coulston F, Korte F, eds. [1975]. Heavy metal toxicity, safety and hormology. In: Environmental Quality & Safety, Supplement 1. New York, NY: Georg Thieme Publishers, pp. 1-120.
  7. Izmerov NF, Sanotsky IV, Sidorov KK [1982]. Toxicometric parameters of industrial toxic chemicals under single exposure. Moscow, Russia: Centre of International Projects, GKNT, p. 22.
  8. Smyth HF Jr, Carpenter CP [1948]. Further experience with the range finding test in the industrial toxicology laboratory. J Ind Hyg Toxicol 30(1):63-68.
  9. Taylor PJ [1966]. Acute intoxication from antimony trichloride. Br J Ind Med 23(4):318-321.


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