Toxic chemical hazard classification and risk acceptance guidelines for use in DOE facilities. Revision 2

The concentration-limit guidelines presented in this document apply to airborne releases of chemicals evaluated with respect to human health effects for the purposes of hazard classification and categorization, risk assessment and safety analysis. They apply to all DOE facilities and operations involving the use of potentially hazardous chemicals. The guidelines do not address other nonradiological hazards such as fire, pressure releases (including explosions), and chemical reactivity, but the guidelines are applicable to hazardous chemical releases resulting from these events. This report presents the subcommittee`s evaluation and recommendations regarding analyses of accidentally released toxic chemicals. The premise upon which these recommendations are based is that the mechanism of action of toxic chemicals is fundamentally different from that associated with radionuclides, with the exception of carcinogens. The recommendations reported herein are restricted to the airborne pathway because in an accident scenario this typically represents the most immediately significant route of public exposure. However, the subcommittee recognizes that exposure to chemicals through other pathways, in particular waterborne, can have significant impacts on human health and the environment. Although there are a number of chemicals for which absorption through the skin can contribute measurably to the total dose in chronic (e.g., occupational) exposure situations, this pathway has not been considered for the acute exposure scenarios considered in this report. Later studies. will address these issues if it appears desirable