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Occupational safety considerations with hydrazineHydrazine is a reducing agent that is most commonly used as a propellant and as an oxygen scavenger in boilers. Hydrazine is extremely irritating and has been demonstrated to produce both acute and chronic toxicity. As a result, the established permissible inhalation exposure limits are very low, and respiration protection is required whenever vapors are present. Liquid hydrazine penetrates the skin and produces a chemical burn; therefore, some protective measures must also be taken to protect the skin from liquid contact. Often, however, a cumbersome, whole-body protective suit is worn to protect against skin contact with vapor as well. To what extent it is actually necessary to protect skin from vapor penetration had not previously been demonstrated. In an attempt to answer this question, we conducted a study with rats to compare the dermal penetration of hydrazine vapor with inhalation. Pharmacokinetic modeling was used to compare body burdens resulting from these different routes of exposure. The analysis concluded that the vapor concentration during a skin-only exposure would have to be at least 200 times higher than that during inhalation to achieve the same body burden. This type of estimation illustrates the use of predictive toxicology in occupational exposures.
Document ID
19920013115
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Clewell, Harvey J., III
(Aerospace Medical Research Labs. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, United States)
Mcdougal, James N.
(Aerospace Medical Research Labs. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, United States)
George, Marilyn E.
(Aerospace Medical Research Labs. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, United States)
Andersen, Melvin E.
(Aerospace Medical Research Labs. Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Johnson Space Center, 5th Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1991), Volume 2
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Accession Number
92N22358
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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