Chemical common toxic chemicals

Table 14.9 provides IDLH values for some of the more common toxic chemicals. (For reference, the ERPG-2 values are also shown typically, they are much lower than the IDLH levels.)... 

The values of the PROBIT parameters for some common toxic chemicals are given in Table 10.7. Information for some other toxic chemicals and description of an approximate... 

Appendix 2 Hazard Characteristics of Common Toxic Chemicals... 

Common-sense guidelines can be deduced from the requirements for building operations and works of engineering construction summarized in Table 13.11. In special situations, e.g. for firefighting or protection against toxic chemicals, hoods and suits cover the head and neck and many incorporate protection. 

MCS may result from a single massive exposure to one or more toxic substances or repeated exposure to low doses. On one hand, some people may become chemically sensitive following a toxic chemical spill at work or in their community or after being sprayed directly with pesticides. On the other, individuals may develop this condition from spending forty hours each week in a poorly ventilated building where they breathe a profusion of chemicals common to our modem way of life. 

Of the top ten most frequently reported toxic chemicals on the TRI list, the prevalence of volatile chemicals explains the air intensive toxic chemical loading of the refining industry. Nine of the ten most commonly reported toxic chemicals are highly volatile. Seven of the ten are aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, cyclohexane, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and ethylbenzene). 

Since few chemicals (e.g. hydrogen, methane, ammonia) have a molecular weight less than that of air, under ambient conditions most gases or vapours are heavier than air. For example, for common toxic gases refer to Table 3.1 for flammable vapours refer to Table 5.1. At constant pressure the density of a gas or vapour is, as shown, inversely proportional to the absolute temperature. As a result ... 

An inadequate intake in the diet of those food chemicals that are essential nutrients results in health risks. Indeed these risks are by far the most important in terms of the world s population where malnutrition is a major public health problem. But, unlike the toxic chemicals, they would show a very different dose-response if they were subject to similar animal bioassays. At very low doses there would be a high risk of disease that would decrease as the dose was increased, the curve would then plateau until exposure was at such a level that toxicity could occur. Figure 11.2 shows this relationship which is U- or J-shaped rather than the essentially linear dose-response that is assumed for chemicals that are only toxic. The plateau region reflects what is commonly regarded as the homeostatic region where the cell is able to maintain its function and any excess nutrient is excreted, or mechanisms are induced that are completely reversible. 

Chemical reduction is used to transform a toxic substance with a higher valence to a nontoxic or less-toxic substance with lower valence. The most promising application is the reduction of hexava-lent chromium to trivalent chromium. This method is also applicable to other multivalent metals such as lead and mercury. Commonly used chemical agents for this purpose are sulfite salts, sulfur dioxide, and base metals (e.g., iron and aluminum).22 24... 

Gasoline is a mixture of different compounds. A typical blend contains nearly 200 different hydrocarbons and additives such as antioxidants and antiknock agents. Thirteen of the chemicals commonly found in gasoline (nine hydrocarbons and four additives) are regulated as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Table 18.1 lists the chemicals along with the values of toxicity, water solubility, vapor pressure, and biodegradability.19... 

Each application has revealed new aspects that had not been considered previously (Table I). Nevertheless, the examples share one characteristic common to toxic chemical risk analysis an acceptable exposure level must be combined with a relationship between source concentration and estimated degree of exposure. This concept has been published previously(1,2,3) ... 

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