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Toluene																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 108–88–3
**NIOSH REL:** 100 ppm (375 mg/m3) TWA, 150 ppm (560 mg/m3) STEL
**Current OSHA PEL:** 200 ppm TWA, 300 ppm CEILING,
500 ppm 10-minute MAXIMUM PEAK
**1989 OSHA PEL:** 100 ppm (375 mg/m3) TWA, 150 ppm (560 mg/m3) STEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 50 ppm (188 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**Description of substance:** Colorless liquid with a sweet, pungent, benzene-like odor.
**LEL:** . . 1.1% (10% LEL, 1,100 ppm)
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 2,000 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH seems reasonable based on the statements by Patty [1963] and ANSI [1973]. Patty [1963] reported that with 600 ppm, extreme fatigue, mental confusion, exhilaration, nausea, headache, and dizziness resulted by the end of 3 hours [von Oettingen et al. 1942]. ANSI [1973] reported that exposures to concentrations greater or longer than 4,000 ppm for 5 minutes might limit self-rescue ability.
**Existing short-term exposure guidelines:** National Research Council [NRC 1987] Emergency Exposure Guidance Levels (EEGLs):
1-hour EEGL: 200 ppm
24-hour EEGL: 100 ppm
**ACUTE TOXICITY DATA:**
**Lethal concentration data:**

**Species**
    **Reference**
    **LC50** **(ppm)**
    **LCLo** **(ppm)**
    **Time**
    **Adjusted 0.5-hr** **LC (CF)**
    **Derived value**Rat
    Benignus 1981
    >26,700
    -----
    1 hr
    >33,375 ppm (1.25)
    >3,338 ppmMouse
    Benignus 1981
    400
    -----
    24 hr
    1,440 ppm (3.6)
    144 ppmRabbit
    Smyth & Carpenter 1944
    -----
    55,000
    40 min
    60,500 ppm (1.1)
    6,050 ppm**Other animal data:** RD50 (mouse), 5,300 ppm [Nielsen and Alarie 1982].
 **Human data:** It has been reported that extreme fatigue, mental confusion, exhilaration, nausea, headache and dizziness resulted from exposures to 600 ppm by the end of 3 hours [von Oettingen et al. 1942]. In addition, the following observations have been made: some workers will tolerate concentrations ranging up to 200 ppm for 6 to 8 hours daily with no demonstrable ill effects; 200 to 500 ppm for 6 to 8 hours will cause tiredness and lassitude in most workers; and concentrations over 500 ppm for 1 to 3 hours are definitely dangerous and will cause symptoms attributable to depression of the central nervous system and the bone marrow [Wilson 1943]. It has also been reported that exposure to concentrations greater than 4,000 ppm for more than 5 minutes might limit self rescue ability [ANSI 1973]. After 20 minutes, exposures to concentrations at 300, 500, or 700 ppm resulted in significant increases in reaction times; a significant decrease in perceptual speed resulted after a 20-minute exposure to 700 ppm [Gamberale and Hultengren 1972].
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 500 ppm **Basis for revised IDLH:** The revised IDLH for toluene is 500 ppm based on acute inhalation toxicity data in humans [Gamberale and Hultengren 1972; von Oettingen et al. 1942; Wilson 1943].**REFERENCES:**
1. ANSI [1973]. American National Standard, acceptable concentrations of toluene. New York, NY: American National Standards Institute, p. 6.
2. Benignus VA [1981]. Health effects of toluene: a review. Neurotoxicol *2*:567-588.
3. Gamberale F, Hultengren M [1972]. Toluene exposure. II. Psychophysiological functions. Scand J Work Environ Health *9*:131-139.
4. Nielsen GD, Alarie Y [1982]. Sensory irritation, pulmonary irritation, and respiratory stimulation by airborne benzene and alkylbenzenes: prediction of safe industrial exposure levels and correlation of their thermodynamic properties. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol *65*:459-477.
5. NRC [1987]. Emergency and continuous exposure guidance levels for selected airborne contaminants. Vol. 7. Ammonia, hydrogen chloride, lithium bromide, and toluene. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, Committee on Toxicology, Board on Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, pp. 47-61.
6. Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., p. 1227.
7. Smyth HF Jr, Carpenter CP [1944]. The place of the range finding test in the industrial toxicology laboratory. J Ind Hyg Toxicol *26*:269-273.
8. von Oettingen WF, Neal PA, Donahue DD [1942]. The toxicity and potential dangers of toluene: preliminary report. JAMA *118*:579-584.
9. Wilson RH [1943]. Toluene poisoning. JAMA *123*:1106-1108.

			
							
								Page last reviewed:  December 4, 2014						Content
							source: 	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health NIOSH Publications & Products
Immediately Dangerous To Life or Health (IDLH) Values
Table of IDLH Values
Criteria for Determining IDLH Values
Historical Documentation
Original (SCP) Values
Abbreviations for IDLH Documentation
Abbreviations for Journal Titles Follow NIOSH Facebook
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