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From: Jeffrey Lewin <jclewin**At_Symbol_Here**MTU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Fwd: [DCHAS-L] Formic acid
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2017 20:03:17 +0000
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: CAEwQnqgdA23gN6d0ie4c6OPq3VfUhVkN_SFaw5P9fL1CrUa64g**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To


According to NIOSH, 30 ppm is the IDHL; PEL and TLV are 5 ppm.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/64186.html


For comparison, here are toxicity studies I just pulled from Toxnet's hazardous substance data base:

Non-Human Toxicity Values:


LD50 Dog oral 4000 mg/kg
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LD50 Dog iv 3000 mg/kg /Sodium formate/
[JECFA; FAO Nutrition Meetings Rpt Ser No. 38A: Specifications for Identity and Purity and Toxicological Evaluation of Some Antimicrobials and Antioxidants- Formic Acid (1965). Available from, as of July 13, 2005: http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v38aje03.htm **PEER REVIEWED**

LC50 Mouse inhalation 6200 mg/cu m /15 min
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LD50 Mouse oral 700 mg/kg
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004.., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LD50 Mouse iv 145 mg/kg
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004.., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LD50 Mouse ip 940 mg/kg
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004.., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LC50 Rat inhalation 15 g/cu m/15 min
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**

LC50 Rat inhalation 7.4 mg/L/4 hr
[European Chemicals Bureau; IUCLID Dataset, Formic acid (64-18-6) (2000 CD-ROM edition). Available from, as of July 14, 2005: http://esis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ **PEER REVIEWED**

LD50 Rat oral 1100 mg/kg
[Lewis, R.J. Sr. (ed) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials. 11th Edition. Wiley-Interscience, Wiley & Sons, Inc.. Hoboken, NJ. 2004., p. 1817] **PEER REVIEWED**


On Thu, Apr 6, 2017 at 3:47 PM Ferm, Barret <000003e16e810599-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**lists.princeton.edu> wrote:

Is it just me, or is the following entry in the Wikipedia entry on formic acid misleading, or even deceptive?

"Safety

Formic acid has low toxicity [emphsis added] (hence its use as a food additive), with an LD50 of 1.8 g/kg (oral, mice). The concentrated acid is corrosive to the skin.[6]"

Farther below in the same section, however, it says the OSHA PEL is 30 ppm. Elsewhere it gives the NFPA hazard codes: H=3, F=2, R=1.

How can they say it is "low toxicity"?

~Barry Ferm

Chemical Hygiene Officer
Chemistry Laboratory Coordinator

--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
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Jeff Lewin
Chemical Safety Officer
Compliance, Integrity, and Safety
Environmental Health and Safety
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931

O 906-487.3153
--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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