6. Methyl bromide can react to form HBr and Br
Additional information is available from Gaylord Chemical Company.
Acute Toxicity
Evaluation of the degree of hazard due to contact with a chemical is usually by its single-dose LD-50. The
LD-50 is the Lethal Dose in number of grams of DMSO per kilogram of body weight which results in 50%
mortality of the test animals under standardized conditions. Dozens of test data reports are available from
many laboratories throughout the world. The reported LD-50 may vary but the data confirm a low level of
toxicity. One published summary is the following
Mouse
Rat
Guinea Pig
Chicken
Cat
Dog
Monkey
40
-
-
>11
17.4-28.3
5.2-8.1
-
2.5
4.0
12.0-20.5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
mouth or injected directly into the blood stream, to have a 50% mortality rate in a group weighing 150 pounds
each.
Other studies have shown that DMSO has low acute toxicity and is practically non-toxic (LD-50>5 g/kg) by
ingestion or dermal application. Rat oral LD-50s are reported from 17.4 to 28.3 g/kg, whereas LD-50s for mice
have been reported from 16.5 to 24.6 g/kg. The acute dermal LD-50 is 40 g/kg for the rat and 50 g/kg for the mouse,
while dermal LD-50s > 11 g/kg are reported for both dogs (beagles) and primates (rhesus monkeys). Although
DMSO can cause skin and eye irritation, it is not a skin sensitizer.
In addition to LD-50 explained above, another unit LC-50 is used to evaluate the hazard from inhalation. LC-50 is
the Lethal Concentration that kills 50% of the test animals. The acute rat inhalation LC-50 is greater than 1.6 mg /l,
the only dose level tested, and which is also a No-Observed-Effect-Level (NOEL).