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Chemical Sampling Information (CSI)
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General Description

OSHA IMIS Code Number: 0390

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Registry Number: 7726-95-6

NIOSH Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances (RTECS) Identification Number: EF9100000

Department of Transportation Regulation Number (49 CFR 172.101) and Guide: 1744 154

NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards, Bromine: chemical description, physical properties, potentially hazardous incompatibilities, and more

Exposure Limits

OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL):

General Industry: 29 CFR 1910.1000 Z-1 Table -- 0.1 ppm, 0.7 mg/m3 TWA

Maritime: 29 CFR 1915.1000 Table Z-Shipyards -- 0.1 ppm, 0.7 mg/m3 TWA

American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV): 0.1 ppm, 0.66 mg/m3 TWA; 0.2 ppm, 1.3 mg/m3 STEL

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Recommended Exposure Limit (REL): 0.1 ppm TWA; 0.3 ppm STEL

Health Factors

NIOSH Immediately Dangerous To Life or Health Concentration (IDLH): 3 ppm

Potential Symptoms: Dizziness, headaches; eye irritation, lacrimation; epistaxis (nosebleed); bronchospasm, shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain or tightness; feeling of oppression; pulmonary edema; pneumonitis; reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS); abdominal pain; diarrhea; measle-like eruptions; skin burns

Health Effects: Irritation-Eye, Nose, Throat, Bronchi, Skin-Marked (HE14) Acute lung damage/edema (HE11)

Affected Organs: Respiratory system, eyes, skin, CNS

Notes: 1) RADS is the persistence or recurrence of asthma-like symptoms lasting long after the exposure. 2) The bromination of tyrosine to form 3-bromotyrosine in lung proteins by eosinophil peroxidase is reportedly increased in asthmatics, but its relevance to effects of bromine inhalation is unknown. 3) A study of chemical burns in 173 patients admitted to a hospital burn unit indicated bromine and its compounds to be the most frequent cause.

Literature Basis:

  • (RADS following bromine exposure)
    Burns, M.J. and Linden, C.H.: Another hot tub hazard. Toxicity secondary to bromine and hydrobromic acid exposure. Chest 111(3): 816-819, 1997.
  • Woolf, A. and Shannon, M.: Reactive airways dysfunction and systemic complaints after mass exposure to bromine. Environ. Health Perspect. 107(6): 507-507, 1999.
  • (bromination of lung proteins)
    Wu, W., Samoszuk, M.K., Comhair, S.A., Thomassen, M.J., Farver, C.F., Dweik, R.A., Kavuru, M.S., Erzurum, S.C. and Hazen, S.L.: Eosinophils generate brominating oxidants in allergen-induced asthma. J. Clin. Invest. 105(10): 1455-1463, 2000.
  • Aldridge, R.E., Chan, T., van Dalen, C.J., Senthilmohan, R., Winn, M., Venge, P., Town, G.I. and Kettle, A.J.: Eosinophil peroxidase produces hypobromous acid in the airways of stable asthmatics. Free Rad. Biol. Med. 33(6): 847-856, 2002.
  • (burns from bromine)
    Singer, A., Sagi, A., Ben Meir, P. and Rosenberg, L.: Chemical burns: our 10-year experience. Burns 18(3): 250-252, 1992.
Date Last Revised: 05/15/2003

Monitoring Methods used by OSHA

Primary Laboratory Sampling/Analytical Method (SLC1):

  • sampling media: Midget Fritted Glass Bubbler (MFGB) containing 10 mL 0.003 M NaHCO3/0.0024 M Na2CO3
    maximum volume: 30 Liters
    maximum flow rate: 0.5 L/min (TWA)
    maximum volume: 7.5 Liters
    maximum flow rate: 0.5 L/min (STEL)
    current analytical method: Ion Chromatography; IC
    method reference: OSHA Manual of Analytical Methods (OSHA ID-108)
    method classification: Partially Validated
    note: Submit as a separate sample.

Secondary Laboratory Sampling/Analytical Method (SAM2):

  • device: Detector Tube
    company: Matheson-Kitagawa
    model/type: 8014-114
    sampling information: follow manufacturer's instructions
    upper measurement limit: 20 ppm
    detection limit: approximately 1 ppm
    overall uncertainty: unknown
    method reference: on-site air secondary (manufacturer)

  • device: Detector Tube
    manufacturer: Gastec
    model/type: 8LA
    sampling information: 4 strokes
    upper measurement limit: 0.8 ppm
    detection limit: 0.05 ppm
    overall uncertainty: unknown
    method reference: on-site air secondary (manufacturer)

  • device: Detector Tube
    manufacturer: Auer/MSA
    model/type: Cl2-0.2, MSA P/N 803944, AUER P/N 5085-801
    sampling information: follow manufacturer's instructions
    upper measurement limit: 3 ppm
    detection limit: 0.2 ppm
    overall uncertainty: unknown
    method reference: on-site air secondary (manufacturer)

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