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Tetranitromethane																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 509–14–8
**NIOSH REL**: 1 ppm (8 mg/m3) TWA
**Current OSHA PEL:** 1 ppm (8 mg/m3) TWA
**1989 OSHA PEL:** Same as current PEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 0.005 ppm (0.04 mg/m3) TWA, A2
**Description of substance:** Colorless to pale-yellow liquid or solid (below 57°F) with a pungent odor.
**LEL** :. . Unknown
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 5 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on the statement by AIHA [1964] that concentrations above 5 ppm may cause irreversible lung and systemic damage [Koelsch 1917]. Patty [1963] reported that a cat exposed to 10 ppm for 20 minutes died within 10 days [Flury and Zernik 1931], and 5 cats exposed to 7 to 25 ppm for periods ranging from 2.5 to 5 hours died within 1 to 5.5 hours [Sievers et al. 1947].
**Short-term exposure guidelines:** None developed
**ACUTE TOXICITY DATA:**
**Lethal concentration data:**

**Species**
    **Reference**
    **LC50** **(ppm)**
    **LCLo** **(ppm)**
    **Time**
    **Adjusted 0.5-hr** **LC (CF)**
    **Derived value**Rat RatCatMouse
    Horn 1953 Kinkead et al. 1977Marhold 1986USAF 1977
    LC65: 33 1810054
    ----- ---------------
    6.5 hr 4 hr20 min4 hr
    78 ppm (2.35) 36 ppm (2.0)87 ppm (0.87)108 ppm (2.0)
    7.8 ppm 3.6 ppm8.9 ppm11 ppm**Other animal data:** Cats exposed to 10 ppm for 20 min died within ten days [Flury and Zernik 1931]. It has been reported that cats exposed to 7 to 25 ppm for periods ranging from 2.5 to 5 hours died within 1 to 5.5 hours [Sievers et al. 1947].
 **Human data:** It has been stated that concentrations above 5 ppm may cause irreversible lung and systemic damage [Koelsch 1917].
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 4 ppm **Basis for revised IDLH:** Based on acute inhalation toxicity data in humans [Koelsch 1917] and animals [Horn 1953; Kinkead et al. 1977], the revised IDLH for tetranitromethane is 4 ppm.**REFERENCES:**
1. AIHA [1964]. Tetranitromethane. In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *25*:513-515.
2. Flury F, Zernik F [1931]. Schädliche gase dämpfe, nebel, rauch- und staubarten. Berlin, Germany: Verlag von Julius Springer, p. 417 (in German).
3. Horn HJ [1953]. Chemical Corps Medical Laboratories Contract Report No. 20.
4. Kinkead ER, MacEwen JD, Haun CC, Vernot EH, Dacre JC [1977]. Toxic hazards evaluation of five atmospheric pollutants from Army ammunition plants. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Air Force Systems Command, Aerospace Medical Division, Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory Technical Report AMRL-TR-77-25.
5. Koelsch F [1917]. Die giftwirkung des tetranitromethane. Gewerbehygiene *5*:185 (in German). [From AIHA [1964]. Tetranitromethane. In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *25*:513-515.]
6. Marhold J [1986]. Prehled Prumyslove Toxikologie, Organicke Latky. Prague, Czechoslovakia: Avicenum, p. 403 (in Czechoslovakian).
7. Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., p. 2075.
8. Sievers RF, Rushing E, Gay H, Monaco AR [1947]. Toxic effects of tetranitromethane, a contaminant in crude TNT. Public Health Rep *62*:1054-1058.
9. USAF [1977]. Proceedings of the 8th annual conference on environmental toxicology. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH: Air Force Systems Command, Aerospace Medical Division, Aerospace Medical Research Technical Report, AMRL-TR-77-97.

			
							
								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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