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Acetaldehyde																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 75-07-0
**NIOSH REL:** None established; NIOSH considers acetaldehyde to be a potential occupational carcinogen as defined by the OSHA carcinogen policy [29 CFR 1990].
**Current OSHA PEL:** 200 ppm (360 mg/m3) TWA
**1989 OSHA PEL:** 100 ppm (180 mg/m3) TWA, 150 ppm (270 mg/m3) STEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 25 ppm (45 mg/m3) CEILING, A3
**Description of substance:** Colorless liquid or gas (above 69øF) with a pungent, fruity odor.
**LEL:** 4.0% (10% LEL, 4,000 ppm)
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 10,000 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on the statements by Patty [1963] and ACGIH [1971] that all rats survived a 4-hour exposure to 8,000 ppm, but all rats died from a 16,000 ppm exposure [Smyth 1956].
**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 ValueRat
    Appelman et al. 1982
    13,000
    -----
    4 hr
    26,000 ppm (2.0)
    2,600 ppmHamster
    Feron 1979
    17,000
    -----
    4 hr
    34,000 ppm (2.0)
    3,400 ppmRat
    Skog 1950
    20,000
    -----
    30 min
    20,000 ppm (1.0)
    2,000 ppmRat
    Skog 1950
    20,536
    -----
    30 min
    26,536 ppm (1.0)
    2,054 ppm**Other animal data:** RD50 (mouse), 4,946 ppm [Alarie 1981].
 **Human data:** None relevant for use in determining the revised IDLH.
 **Revised IDLH:** 2,000 ppm**Basis for revised IDLH:** The revised IDLH for acetaldehyde is 2,000 ppm based on acute inhalation toxicity data in animals [Alarie 1981; Skog 1950]. [Note: NIOSH recommends as part of its carcinogen policy that the "most protective" respirators be worn for acetaldehyde at any detectable concentration.]**REFERENCES:**
ACGIH [1971]. Acetaldehyde. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values for substances in workroom air. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, pp. 1-2.
Alarie Y [1981]. Dose-response analysis in animal studies: prediction of human responses. Environ Health Perspect *42*:9-13.
Appelman LM, Woutersen RA, Feron VJ [1982]. Inhalation toxicity of acetaldehyde in rats. I. Acute and subchronic studies. Toxicology *23*(4):293-307.
Feron VS [1979]. Effects of exposure to acetaldehyde in Syrian hamsters simultaneously treated with benzo(a)pyrene or diethylnitrosamine. Prog Exp Tumor Res *24*:162-176.
Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., p. 1967.
Skog E [1950]. A toxicological investigation of lower aliphatic aldehydes. I. Toxicity of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and butryaldehyde; as well as acrolein and crotonaldehyde. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol *6*(4):299-318.
Smyth HF Jr [1956]. Improved communication: hygienic standards for daily inhalation. Am Ind Hyg Assoc Q *17*(2):129-185.

			
							
								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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