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2-Hexanone																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 591–78–6
**NIOSH REL:** 1 ppm (4 mg/m3) TWA
**Current OSHA PEL:** 100 ppm (410 mg/m3) TWA
**1989 OSHA PEL:** 5 ppm (20 mg/m3) TWA
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 5 ppm (20 mg/m3) TWA
**Description of Substance:** Colorless liquid with an acetone-like odor.
**LEL:**. . Unknown
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 5,000 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on the statements by AIHA [1968] that guinea pigs exposed to 6,000 ppm showed signs of beginning narcosis at 30 minutes and deep anesthesia at the end of 1 hour; death did not occur for 6.5 hours at this concentration [Specht et al. 1940]. Also, AIHA [1968] reported that 8,000 ppm killed all rats during a 4-hour exposure [Smyth et al. 1954]. [Note: For “convenience”, an IDLH of 5,000 ppm (50 × the OSHA PEL) was originally chosen rather than 6,000 ppm.]
**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 G. pigRat
    NPIRI 1974 Schrenk et al. 1936Smyth et al. 1954
    8,000 -----LC100: 8,000
    ----- 20,000-----
    4 hr 70 min4 hr
    16,000 ppm (2.0) 26,600 ppm (1.33)16,000 ppm (2.0)
    1,600 ppm 2,600 ppm1,600 ppm
 **Lethal dose data:**
 
 **Species**
    **Reference**
    **Route**
    **LD50** **(mg/kg)**
    **LDLo** **(mg/kg)**
    **Adjusted LD**
    **Derived value**G. pig RatMouse
    Schrenk et al. 1936 Smyth et al. 1954Tanii et al. 1936
    oral oraloral
    2,590 -----2,430
    ----- 914-----
    4,358 ppm 1,538 ppm4,089 ppm
    436 ppm 154 ppm409 ppm
 **Other animal data:** Narcosis occurs in guinea pigs after 30 minutes of exposure to 20,000 ppm [Schrenk et al. 1936].
 **Human data:** Volunteers exposed to 1,000 ppm reported a strong odor and transient, moderate eye and nasal irritation [DiVencenzo et al. 1978].
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 1,600 ppm **Basis for revised IDLH:** The revised IDLH for 2-hexanone is 1,600 ppm based on acute inhalation toxicity data in humans [DiVencenzo et al. 1978] and animals [NPIRI 1974; Smyth et al. 1954]. This may be a conservative value due to the lack of relevant acute toxicity data for workers exposed to concentrations above 1,000 ppm.
**REFERENCES:**
1. AIHA [1968]. 2-Hexanone. In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *29*:618-620.
2. DiVencenzo GD, Hamilton ML, Kaplan CJ, et al. [1978]. Studies on the respiratory uptake and excretion and the skin absorption of methyl n-butyl ketone in humans and dogs. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol *44*:593-604.
3. NPIRI [1974]. Raw materials data handbook, physical and chemical properties, fire hazard and health hazard data. Vol. 1. Organic solvents. Bethlehem, PA: National Printing Ink Research Institute, p. 78.
4. Schrenk HH, Yant WP, Patty FA [1936]. Acute response of guinea pigs to vapors of some noncommercial organic compounds. X. Hexanone (methyl butyl ketone). Public Health Rep *51*:624-631.
5. Smyth HF Jr, Carpenter CP, Weil CS, Pozzani UC [1954]. Range-finding toxicity data: list V. AMA Arch Ind Hyg Occup Med *10*:61-68.
6. Specht H, Miller JW, Valaer PJ, Sayers RR [1940]. Acute response of guinea pigs to the inhalation of ketone vapors. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, Federal Security Agency, U.S. Public Health Service, National Institute of Health Bulletin No, 176, pp. 1-66.
7. Tanii H, Tsuji H, Hashimoto K [1936]. Structure-toxicity relationship of monoketones. Toxicol Lett *30*:13-17.

			
							
								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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