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Hydrogen selenide (as Se)																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 7783–07–5
**NIOSH REL:** 0.05 ppm (0.2 mg/m3) TWA
**Current OSHA PEL:** 0.05 ppm (0.2 mg/m3) TWA
**1989 OSHA PEL:** Same as current PEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 0.05 ppm (0.16 mg/m3) TWA
**Description of Substance:** Colorless gas with an odor resembling decayed horse radish.
**LEL:**. . Unknown
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 2 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on the report by Dudley and Miller [1941] that “12.5% of the guinea pigs which had been exposed for 2 hours at 1.8 ppm (0.006 mg/l) died within 30 days of the exposure. A 4-hour exposure to 1.8 ppm was lethal to 18.8% of the guinea pigs exposed, and a 4-hour exposure to 2.1 ppm was lethal to 25% of the animals exposed.”
**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**G. pig
    Dudley and Miller 1941
    -----
    0.3
    8 hr
    0.75 ppm (2.5)
    0.08 ppmG. pig
    Dudley and Miller 1941
    LC19: 1.8
    -----
    4 hr
    3.6 ppm (2.0)
    0.36 ppmG. pig
    Dudley and Miller 1941
    LC25: 2.1
    -----
    4 hr
    4.2 ppm (2.0)
    0.42 ppmG. pig
    Dudley and Miller 1941
    LC13: 1.8
    -----
    2 hr
    2.9 ppm (1.6)
    0.29 ppmRat
    Wilber 1980
    -----
    5.9
    1 hr
    7.4 ppm (1.25)
    0.74 ppm**Human data:** Although very toxic, no fatalities have been reported, possibly because hydrogen selenide is easily oxidized to red selenium on the surface of mucous membranes of the nose and throat [Friberg et al. 1979]. Concentrations of 1.5 ppm have been found to be intolerable due to eye and nasal irritation [Dudley and Miller 1941].
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 1 ppm **Basis for revised IDLH:** The revised IDLH for hydrogen selenide is 1 ppm based on acute inhalation data in humans [Dudley and Miller 1941; Friberg et al. 1979].**REFERENCES:**
1. Dudley HC, Miller JW [1941]. Toxicology of selenium. VI. Effects of subacute exposure to hydrogen selenide. J Ind Hyg Toxicol *23*(10):470-477.
2. Friberg L, Nordberg GR, Vouk VB [1979]. Handbook on the toxicology of metals. New York, NY: Elsevier North Holland, p. 568.
3. Wilber CG [1980]. Toxicology of selenium: a review. Clin Toxicol *17*(2):171-230.

			
							
								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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