Lethal Concentration 50 and Lethal Dose 50 - Essay Example

Chemical compounds have varying levels of fatality and regulations require specification of the risk level of such compounds. Lethal Concentration 50 and lethal Dose 50 are some of the measurement criteria for toxicity. Lethal Concentration 50 is the concentration of a substance, in air, that is sufficient to kill 50 percent of a test animal while Lethal Dose 50 is the necessary dose for the death of 50 percent of a population that is exposed to the subject substance at a given time ().

From the table of Lethal Concentration 50, Ammonium nitrate is the most lethal and most dangerous of the four compounds. This is because the compound has the lowest value and this means that it becomes lethal at a lower concentration than the other compounds. the conclusion is valid because of measures that consider data on a uniform scale. All measures are concerning rat and inhalation and this provides an equal base for measuring the effectiveness of the compounds. Sodium chloride is the next dangerous compound as it becomes lethal, causing 50 percent of deaths, at 42 ppm.

Larger concentrations, more than 1000 ppm are however required for carbon tetra chloride and hydrofluoric acid and this means that the two compounds are less dangerous concerning the test animal. The observation can therefore be inferred to other animals to the conclusion that, concerning Lethal Concentration, Ammonium nitrate is the most dangerous of the compounds followed by sodium chloride. Data on lethal dose 50 however identifies the least value with sodium chloride, 3 mg/kg, and this means that the compound is the most dangerous of the four.

Hydrofluoric acid follows this with a value of 25 mg/kg. carbon tetrachloride and Ammonium Nitrate however have very high values that indicate lower toxicity. The conclusion is further reliable, based on the data because measures are taken on the same scale, about a single animal species, and about similar delivery modes.