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Chloropicrin

May 1994
Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health Concentrations (IDLH)

CAS number: 76–06–2

NIOSH REL: 0.1 ppm (0.7 mg/m3) TWA

Current OSHA PEL: 0.1 ppm (0.7 mg/m3) TWA

1989 OSHA PEL: Same as current PEL

1993-1994 ACGIH TLV: 0.1 ppm (0.67 mg/m3) TWA

Description of Substance: Colorless to faint-yellow, oily liquid with an intensely irritating odor.

LEL: . . Noncombustible Liquid

Original (SCP) IDLH: 4 ppm

Basis for original (SCP) IDLH: The chosen IDLH is based on the statement by Flury and Zernik [1931] cited in ACGIH [1971] and Patty [1963], and by Prentiss [1937] cited in ILO [1971] that a few seconds exposure to 4 ppm renders a man unfit for action. According to Patty [1963], a 10-minute exposure to 7.5 ppm is intolerable [Flury and Zernik 1931; Prentiss 1937]; therefore, a concentration this high might impede escape within 30 minutes.

Short-term exposure guidelines: None developed

ACUTE TOXICITY DATA

Lethal concentration data:

Species Reference LC50(ppm) LCLo(ppm) Time Adjusted 0.5-hrLC (CF) Derivedvalue
HumanMouse

Cat

Mouse

Rat

Rat

Deichmann and Gerarde 1969Okada et al. 1970

Ritlop 1939

Sangyo Igaku 1973

Sine 1993

Yoshida et al. 1991

———-

—–

9.7

117

14.4

293340

117

—–

—–

—–

10 min1 min

20 min

4 hr

20 min

4 hr

202 ppm (0.69)109 ppm (0.32)

102 ppm (0.87)

19 ppm (2.0)

102 ppm (0.87)

29 ppm (2.0)

20 ppm11 ppm

10 ppm

2 ppm

10 ppm

3 ppm

 

Other animal data: RD50 (mouse), 7.98 ppm [Alarie 1981].

Other human data: It has been reported that 4 ppm for a few seconds renders a worker unfit for activity and that a 10-minute exposure to 7.5 ppm is intolerable [Flury and Zernik 1931].

 

REFERENCES:

1. ACGIH [1971]. Chloropicrin. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values for substances in workroom air. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, p. 54.

2. Alarie Y [1981]. Dose-response analysis in animal studies: prediction of human responses. Environ Health Perspect 42:9-13.

3. Deichmann WB, Gerarde HW [1969]. Chloropicrin (trichloronitromethane; nitrochloroform; picfume). In: Toxicology of drugs and chemicals. New York, NY: Academic Press, Inc., pp. 169-170.

4. Flury F, Zernik F [1931]. Schädliche gase dämpfe, nebel, rauch- und staubarten. Berlin, Germany: Verlag von Julius Springer, pp. 418-419 (in German).

5. ILO [1971]. Chloropicrin. In: Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety. 2nd ed. Vol. I (A-K). Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Office, p. 294.

6. Okada E, et al. [1970]. A study of chloropicrin intoxication. Nippon Naika Gakkai Zasshi (Journal of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine) 59(11):1214 (in Japanese). [From ACGIH [1971]. Chloropicrin. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values for substances in workroom air. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, p. 54.]

7. Patty FA, ed. [1963]. Industrial hygiene and toxicology. 2nd rev. ed. Vol. II. Toxicology. New York, NY: Interscience Publishers, Inc., pp. 2082-2083.

8. Prentiss AM [1937]. Chemicals in war. A treatise on chemical warfare. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., p. 140.

9. Ritlop B [1939]. Das todlicehkeitsprodukt des chlorpikrins. Zeit Ges Exp Med 106:296-302 (in German).

10. Sangyo Igaku (Japanese Journal of Industrial Health) [1973]. Inhalation toxicity of phosgene and trichloronitromethane (chloropicrin). 15:406-407 (in Japanese).

11. Sine C, ed. [1993]. Chloropicrin. In: Farm chemicals handbook ’93, p. C78.

12. Yoshida M, Murao N, Tsuda S, Shirasu Y [1991]. Effects of mode of exposure on acute inhalation toxicity of chloropicrin vapor in rats. Nippon Noyaku Gakkaishi (Journal of the Pesticide Science Society of Japan) 16:63-69.