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Acetone																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 67-64-1
**NIOSH REL:** 250 ppm (590 mg/m3) TWA
**Current OSHA PEL:** 1,000 ppm (2,400 mg/m3) TWA
**1989 OSHA PEL:** 750 ppm (1,800 mg/m3) TWA, 1,000 ppm (2,400 mg/m3) STEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 750 ppm (1,780 mg/m3) TWA, 1,000 ppm (2,380 mg/m3) STEL
**Description of substance:** Colorless liquid with a fragrant, mint-like odor.
**LEL:** 2.5% (10% LEL, 2,500 ppm)
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 20,000 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** There is no evidence in the available toxicological data that acetone presents an IDLH hazard below the lower explosive limit (LEL) of 25,000 ppm. Because Patty [1963] reported that a 1.5-hour exposure to 20,256 ppm is narcotic for mice, 20,000 ppm has been chosen as the IDLH.
**Existing short-term exposure:** National Research Council [NRC 1984] guideline
**Emergency Exposure Guidance Levels (EEGLs):****1-hour EEGL:** 8,500 ppm**24-hour EEGL:** 1,000 ppm
ACUTE TOXICITY DATA
**Lethal concentration data:**
AdjustedLC50
    LCLo
    
    0.5-hr
    DerivedSpecies
    Reference
    (ppm)
    (ppm)
    Time
    LC (CF)
    ValueMouse
    Flury and Wirth, 1933
    -----
    45,455
    1 hr
    56,818 ppm (1.25)
    5,682 ppmRat
    Pozzani et al. 1959
    20,702
    -----
    8 hr
    51,755 ppm (2.5)
    5,176 ppm**Lethal dose data:**
 LD50
    LDLo
    
    DerivedSpecies
    Reference
    Route
    (Mg/kg)
    (mg/kg)
    Adjusted LD
    ValueRat
    Freeman and Hayes 1985
    oral
    5,800
    -----
    16,777 ppm
    1,678 ppmMouse
    Molodykh et al. 1980
    oral
    3,000
    -----
    8,678 ppm
    868 ppmRabbit
    WHO 1980
    oral
    5,340
    -----
    15,446 ppm
    1,545 ppm**Other animal data:** RD50 (mouse), 77,516 ppm [Alarie 1981].
 **Human data:** Volunteers experienced slight irritation at 300 ppm but 500 ppm was tolerated [Nelson et al. 1943]. Eye irritation, headache, lightheadedness, nasal irritation, and throat irritation were noted in workers exposed to concentrations considerably in excess of 1,000 ppm and perhaps as high as 6,500 ppm [Raleigh and McGee 1972]. No indications of toxicity were reported following exposures to 2,100 ppm for 8 hours/day [Haggard et al. 1944].
 **Revised IDLH:** 2,500 ppm [LEL]**Basis for revised IDLH:** Based on health considerations and acute inhalation toxicity data in humans [Haggard et al. 1944; Raleigh and McGee 1972] and animals [Flury and Wirth 1933; Pozzani et al. 1959], a value of about 5,000 ppm would have been appropriate for acetone. However, the revised IDLH for acetone is 2,500 ppm based strictly on safety considerations (i.e., being 10% of the lower explosive limit of 2.5%).References:
Alarie Y [1981]. Dose-response analysis in animal studies: prediction of human responses. Environ Health Perspect *42*:9-13.
Flury F, Wirth W [1933]. Zur toxikologie der l”sungsmittel (Verschieden ester, aceton, methylalkohol). Arch Gewerbepath Gewerbehyg *5*:1-90 (in German).
Freeman JJ, Hayes EP [1985]. Acetone potentiation of acute acetonitrile toxicity in rats. J Toxicol Environ Health *15*:609-621.
Haggard HW, Greenberg LA, Turner Jmcc [1944]. The physiological principles governing the action of acetone together with determination of toxicity. J Ind Hyg Toxicol *26*(5):133-151.
Molodykh ZV, Buzykin BI, Kudrina MA, Sysoeva LP, Gazetdinova NG, Neklesova ID, Kitaev YP [1980]. Antimicrobial activity of some acyl halide arylhydrazones and carboxylic acid arylhydrazides. Pharm Chem J *14*:162-169.
Nelson K, Ege JF Jr, Ross M, Woodman LE, Silverman L [1943]. Sensory response to certain industrial solvent vapors. J Ind Hyg Toxicol *25*(7):282-285.
NRC [1984]. Emergency and continuous exposure limits for selected airborne contaminants. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, Committee on Toxicology, Board on Toxicology and Environmental Health Hazards, Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, pp. 5-25.
Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., p. 1788.
Pozzani UC, Weil CS, Carpenter CP [1959]. The toxicological basis of threshold limit values: 5. The experimental inhalation of vapor mixtures by rats, with notes upon the relationship between single dose inhalation and single dose oral data. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *20*:364-369.
Raleigh RL, McGee WA [1972]. Effects of short, high-concentration exposures to acetone as determined by observation in the work area. J Occup Med *14*(8):607-610.
WHO [1970]. Acetone: biological data. In: Toxicological evaluation of some solvents and certain other substances. Food and Agriculture Organization Nutrition Meetings Report Series 48A. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations, World Health Organization, pp. 86-90.

			
							
								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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