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Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants
B6 Hydrogen
King Lit Wong, Ph.D.
Johnson Space Center Toxicology Group
Biomedical Operations and Research Branch
Houston, Texas
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas (Sax, 1984).
Formula:
H2
CAS number:
1333-74-0
Molecular weight:
2.0
Boiling point:
−252.8°C
Melting point:
−259.2°C
Gas density:
0.069 that of air
Conversion factors at 25°C, 1 atm:
1 ppm = 0.082 mg/m3
1 mg/m3= 12.2 ppm
OCCURRENCE AND USE
Hydrogen is present in fuel cells as a by-product of oxygen generation from water. Flatulence is a biological source of hydrogen, which is formed by bacterial degradation of oligosaccharides in the lower intestine (Hopfer, 1982). The production rate in humans is approximately 50 mg/d per person (Olcott, 1972). Preliminary date from space-shuttle flights indicate that hydrogen might be present in the cabin atmosphere at about 100 ppm.
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OCR for page 139
Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants
B6 Hydrogen
King Lit Wong, Ph.D.
Johnson Space Center Toxicology Group
Biomedical Operations and Research Branch
Houston, Texas
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas (Sax, 1984).
Formula:
H2
CAS number:
1333-74-0
Molecular weight:
2.0
Boiling point:
−252.8°C
Melting point:
−259.2°C
Gas density:
0.069 that of air
Conversion factors at 25°C, 1 atm:
1 ppm = 0.082 mg/m3
1 mg/m3= 12.2 ppm
OCCURRENCE AND USE
Hydrogen is present in fuel cells as a by-product of oxygen generation from water. Flatulence is a biological source of hydrogen, which is formed by bacterial degradation of oligosaccharides in the lower intestine (Hopfer, 1982). The production rate in humans is approximately 50 mg/d per person (Olcott, 1972). Preliminary date from space-shuttle flights indicate that hydrogen might be present in the cabin atmosphere at about 100 ppm.
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Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants
PHARMACOKINETICS AND METABOLISM
No pharmacokinetics and metabolism information on hydrogen was found.
TOXICITY SUMMARY
Hydrogen is a biological inert gas with no known direct toxic effect (Sax, 1984; NIOSH, 1987). Hydrogen, however, might cause hypoxia via displacement of oxygen in the air. Hypoxic signs and symptoms include tachypnea, cyanosis, sweating, euphoria, impaired judgment, loss of short-term memory, cardiac dysrhythmias, and unconsciousness (Ellenhorn and Barceloux, 1988).
EXPOSURE LIMITS
No exposure limit was found. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists classifies hydrogen as a simple asphyxiant with no exposure limit set (TLV Committee, 1990).
TABLE 6-1 Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations
Durationa
ppm
mg/m3
Target Toxicity
1 h
4100
336
None (explosivity)
24 h
4100
336
None (explosivity)
7 db
4100
336
None (explosivity)
30 d
4100
336
None (explosivity)
180 d
4100
336
None (explosivity)
a These SMACs are ceiling values.
b The current 7-d SMAC = 3000 ppm.
RATIONALE
Simple asphyxiants should be kept at a level that does not lower the oxygen concentration below 18% (TLV Committee, 1990). It takes 14.3% of hydrogen to lower the oxygen concentration from 21% to 18%.
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Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants
H2 concentration = (21% − 18%) × 100/21
= 14.3%.
However, simple asphyxiants are usually not a problem because oxygen concentration in the spacecraft is continuously maintained at acceptable levels. Because hydrogen's lower explosive limit is less than 14.3% (Sax, 1984), its SMACs are established based on explosivity rather than asphyxiating action. With explosion being a very serious matter, a wide margin of safety is called for. Therefore, all the SMACs of hydrogen are set at one-tenth of its lower explosive limit, i.e., at 4100 ppm. A safety factor of 10 agrees with the recommendation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that personnel doing environmental monitoring should evacuate when the concentration of an explosive gas reaches 10% of the lower explosive limit (EPA, 1988).
REFERENCES
Ellenhorn, M.J. and D.G. Barceloux. 1988. Pp. 11-12 in Introduction and Initial Evaluation in Medical Toxicology , Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning. Elsevier, New York.
Hopfer, U. 1982. Digestion and absorption of basic nutritional constituents. P. 1160 in Textbook of Biochemistry with Clinical Correlations. T.M. Devlin , ed. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
NIOSH. 1987. P. 2726 in Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances 1985-86. DHHS (NIOSH) Publ. No. 87-114. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Olcott, T.M. 1972. Development of a Sorbent Trace Contaminant Control System, Including Pre- and Postsorbers for a Catalytic Oxidizer. NASA CR-2027. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex.
Sax, I. , ed. 1984. P. 1549 in Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials , 6th Edition. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
TLV Committee. 1990. Pp. 8 and 26 in Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Cincinnati, Ohio.
EPA. 1988. Air Surveillance for Hazardous Materials. Environmental Response Team, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response , U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
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Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Selected Airborne Contaminants
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