Toxicology of aurin tricarboxylic acid and its antidotal effectiveness against beryllium.

Monkeys and dogs were used in a series of studies designed to assess the ability of aurin tricarboxylic acid (ATA) to provide protection against acute beryllium poisoning. The acute LD50 of ATA was found to be 344 mgA/g for monkeys and 164 mg/kg for dogs. Neither species exhibited significant hematological changes when given weekly ATA doses of 25 mg/kg over an 8-month period. The lethal intravenous dose of beryllium sulfate was 0.6 mg/lg for both dogs and monkeys, but the value increased to between 1 and 3 mg/kg when given by intratracheal injection. Acute toxic effects were not observed by either intravenous or intratracheal doses of suspensions of beryllium oxide. Treatment with ATA appeared to have therapeutic value in monkeys exposed to beryllium, but no significant response was observed in dogs.