The assessment of major hazards: The lethal toxicity of chlorine

Abstract Measures for the control of hazardous installations handling toxic materials create a requirement for data on toxicity. In a previous paper the toxicity data for chlorine were reviewed and a model was derived for the lethal toxicity of chlorine to man. Another industrially important toxic gas which is closely related to chlorine is bromine. Information on the toxicity of bromine is mainly to be found in papers which deal with both chlorine and bromine. In this paper the toxicity data for bromine are reviewed and a model is derived for the lethal toxicity of bromine to man. A distinction is made between less vulnerable and more vulnerable populations and between different levels of physical activity. Mortality is expressed in terms of a lethal toxic load which is a function of concentration and time. The concentrations lethal at the 50% level for a 10 min exposure with standard level of activity are estimated as 650, 260 and 546 ppm for the regular, vulnerable and average population, respectively, and those for a 30 min exposure as 375, 150 and 315 ppm, respectively. The probit equation derived for the regular population at the standard level of activity is Y = −9.04 + 0.92ln L* with L* = Σ C2T where C is concentration (ppm), L* toxic load (ppm2 min), T time (min) and Y the probit. A methodology for the application of the toxicity relationships in hazard assessment is given.

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