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Request for the Technical Review of 4 Draft Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Value Profiles

May 2017
NIOSH Docket Number 156-C, CDC-2017-0048

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the availability of four (4) draft Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Value Profile documents were made available for public comment on May 5, 2017. The draft IDLH Value Profile documents were developed to provide the scientific rationale behind derivation of IDLH values for the following chemicals:

Document # Chemical CAS
B-01 Acetonitrile [PDF – 285 KB] # 75-05-8
B-02 Chloroacetonitrile [PDF – 352 KB] # 107-14-2
B-03 Methacrylonitrile [PDF – 287 KB] # 126-98-7
B-04 Nitrogen dioxide [PDF – 331 KB] # 10102-44-0

Each IDLH Value Profile provides a detailed summary of the health hazards of acute exposures to high airborne concentrations and the rationale for the proposed IDLH value with the chemical(s) of interest.

To view the notice and related materials, visit https:www.regulations.gov and enter CDC-2017-0048 in the search field and click “Search”.

To view related dockets see Docket 156, Docket 156-A, and Docket 156-B.

Reference Documents

  • Federal Register Notice: Federal Register Notice [PDF – 200 KB]
  • Background Information: In 2013, NIOSH published Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) 66 – Derivation of Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Values [NIOSH 2013]. Since the establishment of the IDLH values in the 1970s, NIOSH has continued to review available scientific data to improve the protocol used to derive acute exposure guidelines, in addition to the chemical-specific IDLH values. The information presented in this CIB represents the most recent update of the scientific rationale and the methodology (hereby referred to as the IDLH methodology) used to derive IDLH values. The primary objectives of this document are to:
    1. Provide a brief history of the development of IDLH values
    2. Update the scientific bases and risk assessment methodology used to derive IDLH values from quality data
    3. Provide transparency behind the rationale and derivation process for IDLH values
    4. Demonstrate how scientifically credible IDLH values can be derived from available data resources.

    The IDLH methodology is based on a weight-of-evidence approach that applies scientific judgment for critical evaluation of the quality and consistency of scientific data and in ex­trapolation from the available data to the IDLH value. The weight-of-evidence approach refers to critical examination of all available data from diverse lines of evidence and the derivation of a scientific interpretation on the basis of the collective body of data, includ­ing its relevance, quality, and reported results. Conceptually, the derivation process for IDLH values is similar to that used in other risk-assessment applications, including these steps:

    1. Hazard characterization
    2. Identification of critical adverse effects
    3. Identification of a POD
    4. Application of appropriate UFs, based on the study and POD
    5. Determination of the final risk value

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