EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS​​ ​​ ​

AEGLs for Six More Chemicals Are Now Available​

The National Academies Press (NAP) recently released the 19th volume of Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals, a publication that covers the acute exposure guideline levels (AEGLs) for six of the approximately 400 extremely hazardous substances that have been identified by EPA. AEGLs are exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur. These threshold exposure limits are for the general public and are applicable to emergency exposures ranging from 10 minutes to eight hours. The chemicals covered in this volume of AEGLs for Selected Airborne Chemicals include cyanide salts, diketene, methacrylaldehyde, pentaborane, tellurium hexafluoride, and tetrafluoroethylene. Three levels of AEGLs—AEGL-1, AEGL-2, and AEGL-3—were developed for each of the six chemicals for each of five exposure periods: 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, and 8 hours. The three levels cover varying degrees of severity of toxic effects, from non-disabling and reversible effects to life-threatening health effects or death. According to NAP, this publication “will inform planning, response, and prevention in the community, the workplace, transportation, the military, and the remediation of Superfund sites.” The publication is available as a free PDF on NAP’s website.