This document is one in a series prepared by the Committee that form the basis of the recommendations for EELs and CELs for selected chemicals. Since the Committee began recommending EELs and CELs for its military sponsors (U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force), the scope of its recommendations has been expanded in response to a request by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The CELs, in particular, grew out of a Navy request for exposure limits for atmospheric contaminants in submarines. The EELs and CELs have been used as design criteria by the sponsors in considering the suitability of materials for particular missions (as in a submarine or a spacecraft) and in assessing the habitability of particular enclosed environments. They are recommended for narrowly defined occupational groups and are not intended for application in general industrial settings or as exposure limits for the general public.

The National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology recommends emergency exposure limits (EELs), short-term public limits (STPLs), and short- term public emergency limits (SPELs--formerly called public emergency limits, or PELs) for a variety of chemicals of concern to its sponsoring agencies. This document is one in a series that form the basis of the recommendations for EELs and CELs for selected chemicals. Since the Committee began recommending EELs and CELs for its military sponsors the scope of its recommendations has been expanded in response to requests by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The CELs grew out of a Navy request for exposure limits for atmospheric contaminants in submarines. The EELs and CELs have been used as design criteria by the sponsors in considering the suitability of materials for particular missions (as in a submarine or a spacecraft) and in assessing the habitability of particular enclosed environments. They are recommended for narrowly defined occupational groups and are not intended for application in general industrial settings or as exposure limits for the general public. This report provides a short review of the chemical and physical properties of these chemicals and their toxic-potential in animals and humans.