Phosgene occupational exposure

Occupational Exposure to Phosgene, Pubhcation No. 76-137, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Center for Disease Control, Washington, D.C., 1976. 

NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health). 1976. Criteria for a recommended standard occupational exposure to phosgene. NIOSH-76-137. 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Criteria for a Recommended Standard. .. Occupational Exposure to Phosgene. DHEW (NIOSH) Pub No 76-137, pp 43, 55. Washington, DG, US Government Printing Office, 1976... 

The occupational exposure limits assigned to phosgene may vary not only from country to country, but also from authority to authority. They are not only subject to change with the passage of time, but may also vary between different work environments. Some industrial companies follow their own standards, where these are more stringent than those set by the health and safety authorities [40]. Clearly, there are no sharp boundaries at which concentrations of phosgene are "safe" and at which some are "dangerous" to the human... 

Occupational exposure to phosgene" has been defined by NIOSH [1484] as exposure above half of the recommended time-weighted average (TWA) environmental limit whilst "overexposure" is defined as known or suspected exposure above either the TWA or ceiling concentration, or any exposure which results in the development of pulmonary symptoms. 

Phosgene cannot be detected by smell (see Section 3.1.3) at the generally accepted occupational exposure limit of 0.1 p.p.m. [43,1703]. Although the sense of smell undoubtedly acts as a natural safety detection warning system, the accepted odour threshold is approximately ten times the TLV-TWA. The odour safety factor (TLV/odour threshold) has been calculated as 0.11, and the material has been assigned an odour safety elassification "E" to suggest that less than 10% of attentive persons can detect the gas at a concentration corresponding to its TLV [43]. 

A short-term exposure limit (ceiling vaiue for any 15 min period) has been proposed by NIOSH as 0.2 p.p.m. [1484,1486,1893], and by HSE as 0.06 p.p.m. [917b,917c]. The long-term occupational exposure limits should not be extrapolated to their numerically equivalent concentration-time values [935]. For exposure to phosgene at the TLV of... 

Comprehensive safety precautions are essential in facilities in which phosgene is manufactured, stored, or processed in any way. Techniques to control occupational exposure to phosgene must be assessed, and major accidents should be prevented, literally, at all costs. These requirements are enforced by legislation in most industrial nations. 

No toxicological data have been recorded for COBrF, and no Occupational Exposure Limits have been recommended. Although it is undoubtedly an irritant with a lethai capacity, it is unlikely to be as poisonous as phosgene. It is unlikely to be flammable. COBrF is not a commercially available substance, and it is not included in the European inventory of existing chemical substances (EINECS) [602a]. 

Standard for Occupational Exposure to. .. Phosgene", NIOSH/DHEW, Washington,... 

Occupational Exposure to Phosgene, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Cincinnati, OH, 1976. 

Phosgene is said to be probably the most poisonous gas used in industry. However, hydrogen sdenide is probably a more poisonous gas and methyl isocyanate is certainly a more poisonous vapor (bp 39 °C). Bis(chloromethyl) ether is more poisonous in the chronic sense (Occupational Exposure Limit, OEL, 1 ppb). Phosgene might, therefore, be more correctly described as the most poisonous gas used in any significant volume in industry [1],... 

Mortality experience among men occupationally exposed to phosgene in the years 1943-1945 was evaluated 30 years after exposure. No excess overall mortality, or mortality from diseases of the respiratory tract, was found in a group of chemical workers chronically exposed to levels with daily excursions above Ippm. Another group of this cohort, 106 workers acutely exposed at some time to a concentration probably greater than 50 ppm, included one death from pulmonary edema, which occurred within 24 hours of exposure, and three deaths vs. 1.37 expected due to... 

Borak, J., Diller, W.F. (2001). Phosgene exposure mechanisms of injury and treatment strategies. J. Occup. Environ. Med. 43 110-19. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration permissible exposure limit for phosgene is 0.1 ppm. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health immediately dangerous to life and health value is 2 ppm. The California Environmental Protection Agency chronic inhalation reference exposure level is 0.0003 mgm. The US Army general population limit is 0.0025 mg m. ... 

Borak, J, DUler, WE. Phosgene Exposure Mechanisms of Injury and Treatment Strategies. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 43(12) 110-119, 2001... 

COMPARATIVE NATIONAL EXPOSURE LIMITS FOR PHOSGENE IN OCCUPATIONAL AIR... 

It has been estimated (although without substantiation) [1484] that some ten thousand workers were potentially at risk to occupational phosgene exposure during its manufacture or use in 1976. In addition, exposure to phosgene can result from the decomposition of various chlorinated organic materials as described in Section 3.3. Risks to the populace, as a result of catastrophic emissions, are described in Section 3.6. 

IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health, National Institute cf Occupational Safety and Health) (NIOSH, 2010) represents the maximum concentration from which one could escape within SOmin without any escape-impairing symptoms, or any irreversible hmlth fffects. The IDLHfor phosgene is based on acute inhalation toxicity data in humans (Diller, 1978). NIOSH REL-STEL (Recommended Exposure Limits—Short Term Exposure Limit) (NIOSH, 2010) is dffined analogous to the ACGIH TLV-TWA. 

---