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LDLo, Lowest Lethal Dose |
LDLo is closely related to the LD50 value which is the dosage which kills half of the test animals under controlled conditions.
LCLo (lowest lethal concentration) is a related term used for gases, dusts, vapors, mists etc.
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Both LD50 and LDLo values state the animal used in the test. This is important because animal toxicity studies do not necessarily extrapolate (extend) to humans. For example, dioxins (of Love Canal, Times Beach, Sveso and Agent Orange fame) are highly toxic to guinea pigs and ducklings at extremely low levels, but have never been unambiguously linked to a single human death even at very high levels of acute (short term) exposure; note, however they are listed by IARC as "known human carcinogens". However, it is best to err on the safe side when evaluating animal toxicity studies and assume that most chemicals that are toxic to animals are toxic to humans.
Typical units for LDLo values are milligrams or grams of material per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg or g/kg, recall that 1 kg = 2.2 pounds).
Pay close attention to the permissible exposure level (PEL) instead. This is a more realistic determination of the maximum safe exposure to a material and is usually based on the known effects of the chemical on humans rather than laboratory animals.
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See also: intraperitoneal, intravenous, LC50, mus (mouse), PEL, STEL, TLV.
Entry last updated: Monday, August 22, 2016. This page is copyright 2000-2019 by ILPI. Unauthorized duplication or posting on other web sites is expressly prohibited. Send suggestions, comments, and new entry desires (include the URL if applicable) to us by email.
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