Antimony compounds (as Sb)

                     
CAS number . . . . . . . . . . . 7440-36-0 (Metal)
NIOSH REL. . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
Current OSHA PEL . . . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
1989 OSHA PEL. . . . . . . . . . Same as current PEL
1993-1994 ACGIH TLV. . . . . . . 0.5 mg Sb/m3 TWA
Description of substance . . . . Varies
Original (SCP) IDLH. . . . . . . 80 mg Sb/m3
Basis for original (SCP) IDLH. . AIHA [1959] reported that the severity of
                                 hazard is moderate to high for both acute and
                                 chronic exposures to antimony and its
                                 compounds.  Brieger et al. [1954] noted an
                                 apparent increase in heart abnormalities in
                                 workers chronically exposed to antimony
                                 trisulfide (0.6 to 5.5 mg/m3) and
                                 demonstrated heart injury in experimental
                                 animals.  The chosen IDLH is based on the
                                 report by Taylor [1966] that slightly delayed
                                 gastrointestinal disorders, including
                                 abdominal pain and persistent anorexia, were
                                 noted in workers briefly exposed to air
                                 containing up to 73 mg/m3 of antimony.
Short-term exposure guidelines . None developed

ACUTE TOXICITY DATA

Lethal concentration data:

                                                       Adjusted               
                                                        0.5-hr       Derived
Species     Reference     (LC50)    (LCLo)   Time       LC (CF)       Value
______________________________________________________________________________
SbCl5
 Mouse   Chekunova and   720 mg/m3  -----     ?            ?            ?   
         Minkina 1987
 Rat     Izmerov et al.  720 mg/m3  -----    2 hr    469 mg Sb/m3  47 mg Sb/m3
         1982

Lethal dose data:


                                                                              
                              LD50     LDLo                        Derived
Species    Reference   Route (mg/kg) (mg/kg)   Adjusted LD          Value
______________________________________________________________________________
Sb
 Rat    Coulston and   oral    7,500  -----   49,000 mg Sb/m3   4,900 mg Sb/m3
        Korte 1975
Sb2O3
 Rat    Smyth and      oral  >20,000  ----- >117,600 mg Sb/m3 >11,760 mg Sb/m3
        Carpenter 1948
SbCl5
 Rat    Arzamastev     oral    1,115  -----    3,179 mg Sb/m3     318 mg Sb/m3
        1964
 G.pig  Arzamastev     oral      900  -----    2,566 mg Sb/m3     257 mg Sb/m3
        1964

Human data . . . . . . . . . . . Antimony pentachloride (SbCl5) is considered
                                 to be the most toxic of the antimony
                                 chlorides [ACGIH 1991].  The American
                                 Conference of Governmental Industrial
                                 Hygienists (ACGIH) TLV for antimony is based
                                 on an analogy to hydrogen chloride [ACGIH
                                 1991].

Revised IDLH: 50 mg Sb/m3
Basis for revised IDLH: The revised IDLH for antimony compounds is 50 mg Sb/m3 based on acute inhalation toxicity data in animals [Izmerov et al. 1982] and an analogy to hydrogen chloride [ACGIH 1991] which has a revised IDLH of 50 ppm (75 mg/m3).

REFERENCES:

1. ACGIH [1991]. Antimony and compounds. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. 6th ed. Cincinnati, OH: American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, pp. 73-75.
2. AIHA [1959]. Antimony and its compounds (excepting stibine). In: Hygienic guide series. Am Ind Hyg Assoc Q 20:515-516.
3. Arzamastsev EV [1964]. Experimental substantiation of the permissible concentrations of tri- and pentavalent antimony in water bodies. Gig Sanit 29(12):16-21 (translated).
4. Brieger H, Semisch CW, Stasney J, Piatek DA [1954]. Industrial antimony poisoning. Ind Med Surg 23:521-523.
5. Chekunova MP, Minkina MA [1987]. Toxicity of pentachlorinated antimony in a chronic experiment. Gig Tr Prof Zabol 13(10):25-29 (in Russian).
6. Coulston F, Korte F, eds. [1975]. Heavy metal toxicity, safety and hormology. In: Environmental Quality & Safety, Supplement 1. New York, NY: Georg Thieme Publishers, pp. 1-120.
7. Izmerov NF, Sanotsky IV, Sidorov KK [1982]. Toxicometric parameters of industrial toxic chemicals under single exposure. Moscow, Russia: Centre of International Projects, GKNT, p. 22.
8. Smyth HF Jr, Carpenter CP [1948]. Further experience with the range finding test in the industrial toxicology laboratory. J Ind Hyg Toxicol 30(1):63-68.
9. Taylor PJ [1966]. Acute intoxication from antimony trichloride. Br J Ind Med 23(4):318-321.