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Cumene																				Related Pages
										May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)
**CAS number:** 98–82–8
**NIOSH REL:** 50 ppm (245 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**Current OSHA PEL:** 50 ppm (245 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**1989 OSHA PEL:** Same as current PEL
**1993-1994 ACGIH TLV:** 50 ppm (246 mg/m3) TWA [skin]
**Description of Substance:** Colorless liquid with a sharp, penetrating, aromatic odor.
**LEL:** . . 0.9% (10% LEL, 900 ppm)
**Original (SCP) IDLH:** 8,000 ppm
**Basis for original (SCP) IDLH:** The chosen IDLH is based on the rat 4-hour LC50 of 8,000 ppm [Smyth et al. 1951 cited by AIHA 1961].
**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 Mouse
    Smyth et al. 1951 Werner et al. 1944
    ----- 2,000
    8,000 -----
    4 hr 7 hr
    16,000 ppm (2.0) 4,800 ppm (2.4)
    1,600 ppm 480 ppm
 **Lethal dose data:**
 
 **Species**
    **Reference**
    **Route**
    **LD50** **(mg/kg)**
    **LDLo** **(mg/kg)**
    **Adjusted LD**
    **Derived value**Mouse Rat
    Sologob 1971 Wolf et al. 1956
    oral oral
    12,750 1,400
    ----- -----
    17,850 ppm 1,960 ppm
    1,785 ppm 196 ppm
 **Other animal data:** Daily exposures of rats to 500 ppm for 5 months resulted in no significant blood changes, although hyperemia and congestion were noted in the lungs, liver, and kidneys [Clayton and Clayton 1981].
 **Human data:** None relevant for use in determining the revised IDLH.
 
 **Revised IDLH:** 900 ppm [LEL] **Basis for revised IDLH:** Based on health considerations and acute inhalation toxicity data in animals [Clayton and Clayton 1981; Smyth et al. 1951], a value of about 1,500 ppm would have been appropriate. However, the revised IDLH for cumene is 900 ppm based strictly on safety considerations (i.e., being 10% of the lower explosive limit of 0.9%).
**REFERENCES:**
1. AIHA [1961]. Cumene. In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J *22*:522-524.
2. Clayton GD, Clayton FE, eds. [1981]. Patty’s industrial hygiene and toxicology. 3rd rev. ed. Vol. 2B. Toxicology. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 3308-3310.
3 Smyth HF Jr, Carpenter CP, Weil CS [1951]. Range-finding toxicity data: list IV. AMA Arch Ind Hyg Occup Med *4*:119-122.
4. Sologob AM [1971]. Experimental study on substantiation of the hygienic standard values of metadiisopropylbenzol and paradiisopropylbenzol in water bodies. Gig Sanit *36*(9):18-21 (in Russian).
5. Werner HW, Dunn RC, von Oettingen WF [1944] The acute effects of cumene vapors in mice. J Ind Hyg Toxicol *26*:264-268.
6. Wolf MA, Rowe VK, McCollister DD, Hollingsworth RL, Oyen F [1956]. Toxicological studies of certain alkylated benzenes and benzene. Experiments on laboratory animals. AMA Arch Ind Health *14*:387-398.

			
							
								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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