Phenol lethal dose

Application of phenol to the skin can be lethal. Death occurred within 10 minutes after 25% of an individual s body surface was exposed to liquid phenol (Griffiths 1973). The cause of death was reported to be cardiac and respiratory depression. In another report, an individual died after being painted with a brush that had been soaked in a solution of phenol and thoroughly washed before use (Lewin and Cleary 1982). In neither case was the dose known with sufficient accuracy to establish a lethal dose. 

Toxicity. Phenol denatures and precipitates cellular proteins and thus may rapidly cause poisoning. The minimum lethal dose by mouth is about 1 g. Severe and even fatal poisoning may also arise from absorption of phenol from open wounds or through the intact skin. The maximum permissible atmospheric concentration is 5 ppm. 

Toxicity. The estimated minimum lethal dose is 2 g and the maximum permissible atmospheric concentration is 10 ppm. The systemic effects of resorcinol are similar to those of phenol but convulsions may be more frequent. 

Pesticides with this mode of action include such old products as the dinitrophenols (dinitroorthocreosol [DNOC], dinoterb, and dinoseb) and other phenols such as pentachlorophenol and ioxynil. DNOC is a biocide useful against mites, insects, weeds, and fungi. The mammalian toxicity is rather high, with a rat oral LD50 (lethal dose in 50% of the population) of 25 to 40 mg/kg of the sodium salt. The typical symptom is fever, which is... 

During the last decade parathion has been the most used organo-phosphorus insecticide. It has been proved to be valuable in crop protection 27). However, using this compound so much has also resulted in numerous accidental intoxications, and many have been lethal 28). In aquatic environments parathion hydrolyzes to yield p-nitro-phenol or oxidizes to yield paraoxon (25, 26). Baker (29) has shown that substituted phenols aflFect the odor quality of drinking water. p-Nitrophenol may be chlorinated at a water treatment plant to produce an odorous product. The U. S. Public Health Service has adopted 1 /xg/liter as a limit for phenolic compounds in water (10). Paraoxon is more toxic to insects and mammals than the parent compound parathion (27). The lethal dose (LD50) for male white rats is 14 mg/kg for parathion while that determined for paraoxon is only 3 mg/kg (30). Bioassay studies with fathead minnows indicated a Median Tolerance Limit (TLni) (96 hours) for parathion of 1.4 mg/liter and 0.3 mg/liter for paraoxon. 

II. Toxic dose. The minimum toxic and lethal doses have not been well established. Phenol is well absorbed by inhalation, skin application, and ingestion. 

Lethality associated with dermal exposure to phenol is greatly influenced by the surface area exposed as well as the concentration of the applied solution. Mortality can vary depending on concentration a dose of 100% phenol may be less toxic than the same dose of phenol given as a diluted solution. When a dose of 53.5 mg/kg was applied to the shorn backs of rats, 100% phenol resulted in the death of 1 of 5 rats, 33% resulted in the death of 3 of 5 rats, 50% resulted in the death of 4 of 5 rats, and 66% phenol resulted in the death of all 5 rats (Conning and Hayes 1970). In rats treated with 3,000 mg/kg phenol in a 6% solution over 1/6 of the total body surface, all 22 treated animals died (Deichmann and Witherup 1944). Increased lethality with decreased concentration has also been observed in rabbits treated dermally with... 

The same diet affects species differently. For instance, mountain hares, Lepus timidus, consume much hirch in their winter diet, while European hares, Lepus europaeus, do not. A high concentration of hirch phenolics in the diet causes massive sodium loss via the urine in European hares, but not in mountain hares (lason and Palo, 1991). Further, among laboratory rodents, hamsters are extremely sensitive to tannins while rats and mice easily adjust within 3 days to doses of condensed tannins that are lethal to hamsters (Mehansho etal, 1987). 

Phenol is highly corrosive and toxic, the main effects being on the central nervous system. The lethal human oral dose is estimated to be 1 g for an adult. 

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