Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Value Profile: Methyl Isocyanate [CAS No. 624-83-9]

Details

• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Personal Author:
  Dotson, G. Scott ; Maier, Andrew ; Parker, Ann ; Haber, Lynn T.
• Description:
  Chemicals are a ubiquitous component of the modern workplace. Occupational exposures to chemicals have the potential to adversely affect the health and lives of workers. Acute or short-term exposures to high concentrations of some airborne chemicals have the ability to quickly overwhelm workers, resulting in a spectrum of undesirable health outcomes that may inhibit the ability to escape from the exposure environment (e.g., irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract or cognitive impairment), cause severe irreversible effects (e.g., damage to the respiratory tract or reproductive toxicity), and in extreme cases, cause death. Airborne concentrations of chemicals capable of causing such adverse health effects or of impeding escape from high-risk conditions may arise from a variety of nonroutine workplace situations, including special work procedures (e.g., in confined spaces), industrial accidents (e.g., chemical spills or explosions), and chemical releases into the community (e.g., during transportation incidents or other uncontrolled-release scenarios). The immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) airborne concentration values developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) characterize these high-risk exposure concentrations and conditions [NIOSH 2013]. IDLH values are based on a 30-minute exposure duration and have traditionally served as a key component of the decision logic for the selection of respiratory protection devices [NIOSH 2004]. Occupational health professionals have employed these values beyond their initial purpose as a component of the NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic to assist in developing risk management plans for nonroutine work practices governing operations in high-risk environments (e.g., confined spaces) and the development of emergency preparedness plans. The approach used to derive IDLH values for high-priority chemicals is outlined in the NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) 66: Derivation of Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Values [NIOSH 2013]. CIB 66 provides (1) an update on the scientific basis and risk assessment methodology used to derive IDLH values, (2) the rationale and derivation process for IDLH values, and (3) a demonstration of the derivation of scientifically credible IDLH values, using available data resources. The purpose of this technical report is to present the IDLH value for methyl isocyanate (CAS # 624-83-9). The scientific basis, toxicologic data and risk assessment approach used to derive the IDLH value are summarized to ensure transparency and scientific credibility. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Chemistry Confined Spaces Disaster Planning Emergencies Environmental Exposure Explosions Eye Hazardous Substances Isocyanates Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Maximum Allowable Concentration Morbidity Mortality Nervous System Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sense Organs Threshold Limit Values Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Chemicals; Workers; Work environment; Transport mechanisms; Confined spaces; Exposure levels; Risk factors; Health effects; Airborne particles; Airborne particulates; Environmental exposure; Eye irritants; Respiratory irritants; Respiratory function; Cognitive function; Toxic effects; Toxins; Fatalities; Morbidity rates; Mortality data; Industrial hazards; Chemical properties; Explosions; Chemical hazards; IDLH; Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health; Risk assessment; Emergency preparedness
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2017-105, 2016 Dec; :1-13
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• Subseries:
  Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Value Profile
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  28 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20049037
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2017-101013
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methyl isocyanate (CAS RN 624-83-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8d2f00e363ec02496bbb5d2bed72cf26796fa5e12dc7e07820cd920febd5f9309badbe4ea7d70cc6bb5b1e01052e25e4c6aa2b00210e5e221e5b9b694f36def8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/43249/cdc_43249_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 488.20 KB ]