NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards

NIOSH Pocket Guide Introduction

• Introduction
  • Background
  • Data Collection and Application
• NIOSH Recommendations
• How to Use This Pocket Guide
  • Chemical Name and Structure
  • Synonyms and Trade Names
  • Conversion Factors
  • Exposure Limits
  • Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH)
  • Physical Description
  • Chemical and Physical Properties
  • Incompatibilities and Reactivities
  • Measurement Methods
  • Personal Protection and Sanitation
  • First Aid
  • Recommendations for Respirator Selection
  • Exposure Route, Symptoms, Target Organs
  • Selection of N-, R-, or P- Series Particulate Respirators

INTRODUCTION

The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards is intended as a source of general industrial hygiene information for workers, employers, and occupational health professionals. The Pocket Guidepresents key information and data in abbreviated tabular form for 677 chemicals or substance groupings (e.g., manganese compounds, tellurium compounds, inorganic tin compounds, etc.) that are found in the work environment. The industrial hygiene information found in the Pocket Guide should help users recognize and control occupational chemical hazards. The chemicals or substances contained in this revision include all substances for which the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has recommended exposure limits (RELs) and those with permissible exposure limits (PELs) as found in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) General Industry Air Contaminants Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000).

Background

In 1974, NIOSH (which is responsible for recommending health and safety standards) joined OSHA (whose jurisdictions include promulgation and enforcement activities) in developing a series of occupational health standards for substances with existing PELs. This joint effort was labeled the Standards Completion Program and involved the cooperative efforts of several contractors and personnel from various divisions within NIOSH and OSHA. The Standards Completion Program developed 380 substance-specific draft standards with supporting documentation that contained technical information and recommendations needed for the promulgation of new occupational health regulations. The Pocket Guide was developed to make the technical information in those draft standards more conveniently available to workers, employers, and occupational health professionals. The Pocket Guide is updated periodically to reflect new data regarding the toxicity of various substances and any changes in exposure standards or recommendations.

Data Collection and Application

The data were collected from a variety of sources, including NIOSH policy documents such as criteria documents and Current Intelligence Bulletins (CIBs), and recognized references in the fields of industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, and analytical chemistry.

NIOSH RECOMMENDATIONS

Acting under the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 USC Chapter 15) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 USC Chapter 22), NIOSH develops and periodically revises recommended exposure limits (RELs) for hazardous substances or conditions in the workplace. NIOSH also recommends appropriate preventive measures to reduce or eliminate the adverse health and safety effects of these hazards. To formulate these recommendations, NIOSH evaluates all known and available medical, biological, engineering, chemical, trade, and other information relevant to the hazard. These recommendations are then published and transmitted to OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for use in promulgating legal standards.

NIOSH recommendations are published in a variety of documents. Criteria documents recommend workplace exposure limits and appropriate preventive measures to reduce or eliminate adverse health effects and accidental injuries.

Current Intelligence Bulletins (CIBs) are issued to disseminate new scientific information about occupational hazards. A CIB may draw attention to a formerly unrecognized hazard, report new data on a known hazard, or present information on hazard control.

Alerts, Special Hazard Reviews, Occupational Hazard Assessments, and Technical Guidelines support and complement the other standards development activities of the Institute. Their purpose is to assess the safety and health problems associated with a given agent or hazard (e.g., the potential for injury or for carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic effects) and to recommend appropriate control and surveillance methods. Although these documents are not intended to supplant the more comprehensive criteria documents, they are prepared to assist OSHA and MSHA in the formulation of regulations.

In addition to these publications, NIOSH periodically presents testimony before various Congressional committees and at OSHA and MSHA rulemaking hearings.

Recommendations made through 1992 are available in a single compendium entitled NIOSH Recommendations for Occupational Safety and Health: Compendium of Policy Documents and Statements [DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 92-100].

More recent recommendations are available on the NIOSH Web site (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh). Copies of the Compendium may be ordered from the NIOSH Publications office (800-356-4674).

HOW TO USE THIS POCKET GUIDE

The Pocket Guide has been designed to provide chemical-specific data to supplement general industrial hygiene knowledge. To maximize the amount of data provided in this limited space, abbreviations and codes have been used extensively. These abbreviations and codes, which have been designed to permit rapid comprehension by the regular user, are discussed for each column in the following subsections.

The chemical name found in the OSHA General Industry Air Contaminants Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000) is listed in the top left portion of each chemical table. 

Chemical Name

The chemical name found in the OSHA General Industry Air Contaminants Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000) is listed in the top left portion of each chemical table. 

Structure/Formula

The chemical structure or formula is listed under the chemical name in each chemical table.  Carbon-carbon double bonds (-C=C-) have been indicated where applicable.

CAS Number

This Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number is provided in the top right portion of the chemical tables.  The CAS number, in the format xxx-xx-x, is unique for each chemical and allows efficient searching on computerized data bases.  The CAS number index can be used to find a chemical based on the CAS number.

RTECS Number

This section lists the Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS^®) number, in the format ABxxxxxxx.  RTECS^®may be useful for obtaining additional toxicologic information on a specific substance.  The RTECS number index can be used to find a chemical based on the RTECS^® number.

RTECS^® is a compendium of data extracted from the open scientific literature.  On December 18, 2001, CDC's Technology Transfer Office, on behalf of NIOSH, successfully completed negotiating a "PHS Trademark Licensing Agreement" for RTECS^®.  This non-exclusive licensing agreement provides for the transfer and continued development of the "RTECS^®database and its trademark" to MDL Information Systems, Inc. (MDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Elsevier Science, Inc.  Under this agreement, MDL will be responsible for updating, licensing, marketing, and distributing RTECS^®.  For more information visit the MDL web site.

DOT ID and Guide Number

This section lists the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Identification numbers and the corresponding Guide numbers.  Their format is xxxx yyy.  The Identification (ID) number (xxxx) indicates that the chemical is regulated by DOT.  The Guide number (yyy) refers to actions to be taken to stabilize an emergency situation; this information can be found in the 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook (Office of Hazardous Materials Initiatives and Training [DHM-50], Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 7^th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590-0001; for sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954).  Please note however, that many DOT numbers are not unique for a specific substance.

Synonyms and Trade Names

This section of each chemical table contains an alphabetical list of common synonyms and trade names for each chemical.  The Chemical Name, Synonym and Trade Name Index can be used to search for chemical pages.  This index also includes the primary chemical names for all of the chemicals in the Pocket Guide.

Conversion Factors

This section lists factors for the conversion of ppm (parts of vapor or gas per million parts of contaminated air by volume) to mg/m³(milligrams of vapor or gas per cubic meter of contaminated air) at 25°C and 1 atmosphere for chemicals with exposure limits expressed in ppm.

Exposure Limits

The NIOSH recommended exposure limits (RELs) are listed first in this section.  For NIOSH RELs, "TWA" indicates a time-weighted average concentration for up to a 10-hour workday during a 40-hour workweek.  A short-term exposure limit (STEL) is designated by "ST" preceding the value; unless noted otherwise, the STEL is a 15-minute TWA exposure that should not be exceeded at any time during a workday.  A ceiling REL is designated by "C" preceding the value; unless noted otherwise, the ceiling value should not be exceeded at any time.  Any substance that NIOSH considers to be a potential occupational carcinogen is designated by the notation "Ca" (see Appendix A, which contains a brief discussion of potential occupational carcinogens).

The OSHA permissible exposure limits (PELs), as found in Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 of the OSHA General Industry Air Contaminants Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000), that were effective on July 1, 1993* and which are currently enforced by OSHA are listed next. 

*In July 1992, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in its decision in AFL-CIO v. OSHA, 965 F.2d 962 (11th Cir., 1992) vacated more protective PELs set by OSHA in 1989 for 212 substances, moving them back to PELs established in 1971.  The appeals court also vacated new PELs for 164 substances that were not previously regulated.  Enforcement of the court decision began on June 30, 1993.  Although OSHA is currently enforcing exposure limits in Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3 of 29 CFR 1910.1000 which were in effect before 1989, violations of the "general duty clause" as contained in Section 5(a) (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act may be considered when worker exposures exceed the 1989 PELs for the 164 substances that were not previously regulated.  The substances for which OSHA PELs were vacated on June 30, 1993 are indicated by the symbol "†" following OSHA in this section and previous values (the PELs that were vacated) are listed in Appendix G

TWA concentrations for OSHA PELs must not be exceeded during any 8-hour workshift of a 40-hour workweek.  A STEL is designated by "ST" preceding the value and is measured over a 15-minute period unless noted otherwise.  OSHA ceiling concentrations (designated by "C" preceding the value) must not be exceeded during any part of the workday; if instantaneous monitoring is not feasible, the ceiling must be assessed as a 15-minute TWA exposure.  In addition, there are a number of substances from Table Z-2 (e.g., beryllium, ethylene dibromide) that have PEL ceiling values that must not be exceeded except for specified excursions.  For example, a "5-minute maximum peak in any 2 hours" means that a 5-minute exposure above the ceiling value, but never above the maximum peak, is allowed in any 2 hours during an 8-hour workday.  Appendix B contains a brief discussion of substances regulated as carcinogens by OSHA.

Concentrations are given in ppm, mg/m³, mppcf (millions of particles per cubic foot of air as determined from counting an impinger sample), or fibers/cm³(fibers per cubic centimeter).  The "[skin]" designation indicates the potential for dermal absorption; skin exposure should be prevented as necessary through the use of good work practices, gloves, coveralls, goggles, and other appropriate equipment.  The "(total)" designation indicates that the REL or PEL listed is for "total particulate" versus the "(resp)" designation which refers to the "respirable fraction" of the airborne particulate. 

Appendix C contains more detailed discussions of the specific exposure limits for certain low-molecular-weight aldehydes, asbestos, various dyes (benzidine-, o-tolidine-, and o-dianisidine-based), carbon black, chloroethanes, the various chromium compounds (chromic acid and chromates, chromium(II) and chromium(III) compounds, and chromium metal), coal tar pitch volatiles, coke oven emissions, cotton dust, lead, mineral dusts, NIAX® Catalyst ESN, trichloroethylene, and tungsten carbide (cemented).  Appendix D contains a brief discussion of substances included in the Pocket Guide with no established RELs at this time.  Appendix F contains miscellaneous notes regarding the OSHA PEL for benzene and the IDLHs for four chloronaphthalene compounds, and Appendix G lists the OSHA PELS that were vacated on June 30, 1993.

IDLH - Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health

This section lists the immediately dangerous to life or health concentrations (IDLHs).  For the June 1994 Edition of the Pocket Guide, NIOSH reviewed and in many cases revised the IDLH values. The criteria utilized to determine the adequacy of the original IDLH values were a combination of those used during the Standards Completion Program and a newer methodology developed by NIOSH.  These "interim" criteria formed a tiered approach, preferentially using acute human toxicity data, followed by acute animal inhalation toxicity data, and then by acute animal oral toxicity data to determine a preliminary updated IDLH value.  When relevant acute toxicity data were insufficient or unavailable, NIOSH also considered using chronic toxicity data or an analogy to a chemically similar substance.  NIOSH then compared these preliminary values with the following criteria to determine the updated IDLH value:  10% of lower explosive limit (LEL); acute animal respiratory irritation data (RD₅₀); other short-term exposure guidelines; and the NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic (DHHS [NIOSH] Publication No. 2005-100) The Documentation for Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (NTIS Publication Number PB-94-195047) further describes these criteria and provides information sources for both the original and revised IDLH values.  NIOSH currently is assessing the various uses of IDLHs, whether the criteria used to derive the IDLH values are valid, and if other information or criteria should be utilized.

The purpose for establishing an IDLH value in the Standards Completion Program was to determine the airborne concentration from which a worker could escape without injury or irreversible health effects from an IDLH exposure in the event of the failure of respiratory protection equipment.  The IDLH was considered a maximum concentration above which only a highly reliable breathing apparatus providing maximum worker protection should be permitted.  In determining IDLH values, NIOSH considered the ability of a worker to escape without loss of life or irreversible health effects along with certain transient effects, such as severe eye or respiratory irritation, disorientation, and incoordination, which could prevent escape.  As a safety margin, IDLH values are based on effects that might occur as a consequence of a 30-minute exposure.  However, the 30-minute period was NOT meant to imply that workers should stay in the work environment any longer than necessary; in fact, EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO EXIT IMMEDIATELY!

NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic defines IDLH exposure conditions as "conditions that pose an immediate threat to life or health, or conditions that pose an immediate threat of severe exposure to contaminants, such as radioactive materials, which are likely to have adverse cumulative or delayed effects on health."  The purpose of establishing an IDLH exposure concentration is to ensure that the worker can escape from a given contaminated environment in the event of failure of the respiratory protection equipment.  The NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic uses IDLH values as one of several respirator selection criteria.  Under the NIOSH Respirator Selection Logic, the most protective respirators (e.g., a self-contained breathing apparatus equipped with a full facepiece and operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode) would be selected for firefighting, exposure to carcinogens, entry into oxygen-deficient atmospheres, in emergency situations, during entry into an atmosphere that contains a substance at a concentration greater than 2,000 times the NIOSH REL or OSHA PEL, and for entry into IDLH atmospheres.  IDLH values are listed in the Pocket Guide for over 380 substances.

The notation "Ca" appears in the IDLH field for all substances that NIOSH considers potential occupational carcinogens.  However, IDLH values that were originally determined in the Standards Completion Program or were subsequently revised are shown in brackets following the "Ca" designations.  "10%LEL" indicates that the IDLH was based on 10% of the lower explosive limit for safety considerations even though the relevant toxicological data indicated that irreversible health effects or impairment of escape existed only at higher concentrations.  "N.D." indicates that an IDLH value has not been determined for that substance.  Appendix F contains an explanation of the "Effective" IDLHs used for four chloronaphthalene compounds.

Physical Description

This entry provides a brief description of the appearance and odor of each substance. Notations are made as to whether a substance can be shipped as a liquefied compressed gas or whether it has major use as a pesticide.

Chemical and Physical Properties

The following abbreviations are used for the chemical and physical properties given for each substance. "NA" indicates that a property is not applicable, and a question mark (?) indicates that it is unknown.

When available, the flammability/combustibility of a substance is listed at the bottom of the chemical and physical properties section.  The following OSHA criteria (29 CFR 1910.106) were used to classify flammable or combustible liquids:

Incompatibilities and Reactivities

This entry lists important hazardous incompatibilities or reactivities for each substance.

Measurement Methods

The section provides a source (NIOSH or OSHA) and the corresponding method number for measurement methods which can be used to determine the exposure for the chemical or substance.  Unless otherwise noted, the NIOSH methods are from the 4th edition of the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (DHHS [NIOSH] Publication No. 94-113 and supplements.  If a different edition of the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods is cited, the appropriate edition and, where applicable, the volume number are noted [e.g., II-4 (2nd edition, volume 4)].  The OSHA methods are from the OSHA Web site ("http://www.osha-slc.gov/dts/sltc/methods".) "None available" means that no method is available from NIOSH or OSHA.

Each method listed is the recommended method for the analysis of the compound of interest.  However, the method may not have been fully optimized to meet the specific sampling situation.  Note that some methods are only partially evaluated and have been used in very limited sampling situations.  Review the details of the method and consult with the laboratory performing the analysis regarding the applicability of the method and the need for further modifications to the method in order to adjust for the particular conditions.

Personal Protection and Sanitation

This section presents a summary of recommended practices for each substance.  These recommendations supplement general work practices (e.g., no eating, drinking, or smoking where chemicals are used) and should be followed if additional controls are needed after using all feasible process, equipment, and task controls.  Each category is described as follows:

First Aid