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Phenol																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 108–95–2
**NIOSH REL:** 5 ppm (19 mg/m3) TWA,
15.6 ppm (60 mg/m3) 15-minute CEILING [skin]
**Current OSHA PEL:** 5 ppm (19 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**1989 OSHA PEL:** Same as current PEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 5 ppm (19 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**Description of substance:** Colorless to light-pink, crystalline solid with a sweet, acrid odor.
**LEL** :. . 1.8% (10% LEL, 1,800 ppm)
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 250 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on an analogy with cresol which has an IDLH of 250 ppm.
**Existing short-term exposure guidelines:** 1991 American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPGs):
ERPG-1: 10 ppm (60-minute)
ERPG-2: 50 ppm (60-minute)
ERPG-3: 200 ppm (60-minute)
**ACUTE TOXICITY DATA:**
**Lethal concentration data:**

**Species**
    **Reference**
    **LC50 (ppm)**
    **LCLo (ppm)**
    **Time**
    **Adjusted 0.5-hr** **LC (CF)**
    **Derived value**Mammal RatMouse
    Gig Tr Prof Zabol 1955 Nagoznyi 1976Nagoznyi 1976
    19 8169
    ----- ----------
    ? ??
    ? ??
    ? ??**Lethal dose data:**
 
 **Species**
    **Reference**
    **Route**
    **LD50 (mg/kg)**
    **LDLo (mg/kg)**
    **Adjusted LD**
    **Derived value**Rat RabbitDogCatMouse
    Brown and Lamson 1935 Deichmann & Witherup 1944Flury and Zernik 1935Flury and Zernik 1935Korolev et al. 1973
    oral oraloraloraloral
    317 ---------------270
    ----- 42050080-----
    568 ppm 752 ppm895 ppm143 ppm483 ppm
    57 ppm 75 ppm90 ppm14 ppm48 ppm**Other animal data:** RD50 (mouse), 166 ppm [DeCeaurriz et al. 1981]. In rats, an exposure of 312 ppm for 1 hour only resulted in lacrimation and eye and nasal irritation; a slight loss of coordination was reported within 4 hours of exposure to 230 ppm [Flickinger 1976].
 **Human data:** It has been stated that the toxicity of phenol is closely related to that of cresol [ACGIH 1991]. It has been reported that 14 to 140 mg/kg is the lethal oral dose [Deichmann and Gerarde 1969; Lefaux 1978]. [Note: An oral dose of 14 to 140 mg/kg is equivalent to a 70-kg worker being exposed to 167 to 1,670 ppm for 30 minutes, assuming a breathing rate of 50 liters per minute and 100% absorption.]
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 250 ppm [Unchanged] **Basis for revised IDLH:** Based on acute inhalation toxicity data in animals [Flickinger 1976] and an analogy to cresol [ACGIH 1991] which has a revised IDLH of 250 ppm, the original IDLH for phenol of 250 ppm is not being revised at this time.**REFERENCES:**
1. ACGIH [1991]. Cresol, all isomers. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. 6th ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, pp. 340-341.
2. Brown HW, Lamson PD [1935]. Oral toxicity of ortho-n-alkylphenols to white rats. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med *32*:592-594.
3. DeCeaurriz JC, Micillino JC, Bonnet P, Guenier JP [1981]. Sensory irritation caused by various industrial airborne chemicals. Toxicol Lett *9*(2):137-143.
4. Deichmann WB, Gerarde HW [1969]. Phenol (carbolic acid). In: Toxicology of drugs and chemicals. New York, NY: Academic Press, Inc., pp. 463-464.
5. Deichmann WB, Witherup S [1944]. Phenol studies. VI. The acute and comparative toxicity of phenol and o-, m- and p-cresols for experimental animals. J Pharmacol Exp Ther *80*:233-240.
6. Flickinger CW [1976]. The benzenediols: catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone: a review of the industrial toxicology and current industrial exposure limits. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *37*:596-606.
7. Flury F, Zernik F [1935]. Zusammenstellung der toxischen und letalen dosen für die gebräuchlichsten gifte und versuchstiere. Abder Hand Biol Arbeitsmethod *4*:1319 (in German).
8. Gig Tr Prof Zabol [1955]. On the toxicity and maximum permissible concentration of a complex set of the neoleucorite (phenoformaldhyde) resin volatile products; *19*(8):37-40 (in Russian).
9. Korolev AA, Abirdir AA, et al. [1973]. Hygienic and toxicologic features of products of phenol destruction in ozone treatment of water. Gig Sanit *38*(8):6-10 (in Russian).
10. Lefaux R [1978]. Practical toxicology of plastics. Cleveland, OH: Chemical Rubber Co., p. 329.
11. Nagoznyi PA [1976]. About the elimination of the problem of combined effect of several toxic materials. Gig Sanit *41*(6):103-105 (in Russian).

			
							
								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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