Glutaraldehyde

Right to Know

Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet

Common Name: GLUTARALDEHYDE

Synonyms: 1,3-Diformylpropane; Glutaral; Cidex®; Procide® CAS Number: 111-30-8 Chemical Name: Pentanedial RTK Substance Number: 0960 Date: January 2000 Revision: April 2010 DOT Number: UN 2810

Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE LAST PAGE Glutaraldehyde is a colorless glass-like crystal that is usually Hazard Summary in a 2% to 50% water solution. It is used for cold sterilization of Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA dental and medical equipment and as a preservative, biocide, HEALTH 2 - hardener, and tanning agent. FLAMMABILITY 0 - REACTIVITY 0 - f ODOR THRESHOLD = 0.04 ppm POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE f Odor thresholds vary greatly. Do not rely on odor alone to DOES NOT BURN determine potentially hazardous exposures.

Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; 4=severe Reasons for Citation f Glutaraldehyde can affect you when inhaled and by passing f Glutaraldehyde is on the Right to Know Hazardous through the skin. Substance List because it is cited by ACGIH, DOT and f Contact with the liquid and vapor can severely irritate and NIOSH. burn the skin and eyes. f Inhaling Glutaraldehyde can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. f Glutaraldehyde can cause headache, nausea and vomiting. f Glutaraldehyde may cause a skin allergy and an asthma- like allergy.

SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5.

Workplace Exposure Limits FIRST AID Eye Contact NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit (REL) is f Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 0.2 ppm, which should not be exceeded at any time. minutes, lifting upper and lower lids. Remove contact lenses, if worn, while flushing. Seek medical attention. ACGIH: The threshold limit value (TLV) is 0.05 ppm, which should not be exceeded at any time. Skin Contact f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash f The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When skin contaminated skin with large amounts of water. contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even though

air levels are less than the limits listed above. Inhalation f Remove the person from exposure. f Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. f Transfer promptly to a medical facility.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802

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Determining Your Exposure Other Effects f Glutaraldehyde may cause a skin allergy. If allergy f Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and a Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product skin rash. ingredients and important safety and health information f Glutaraldehyde may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future about the product mixture. exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and/or chest tightness. f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New

Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact

Sheet, available on the RTK website (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK Medical Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. Medical Testing If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the f You have a right to this information under the New Jersey following is are recommended: Worker and Community Right to Know Act and the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act f Evaluation by a qualified allergist can help diagnose skin if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the allergy. federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you f Lung function tests. The results may be normal if the person are a private worker. is not having an attack at the time of the test.

f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and employers to label chemicals in the workplace and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for requires public employers to provide their employees with damage already done are not a substitute for controlling information concerning chemical hazards and controls. exposure. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). similar information and training to their employees. Mixed Exposures This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce effects described below. your risk of developing health problems.

Health Hazard Information

Acute Health Effects

The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Glutaraldehyde:

f Contact with the liquid and vapor can severely irritate and

burn the skin and eyes. f Inhaling Glutaraldehyde can irritate the nose, throat and

lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of

breath. f Glutaraldehyde can cause headache, nausea and vomiting.

Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Glutaraldehyde and can last for months or years:

Cancer Hazard f While Glutaraldehyde has been tested, it is not classifiable as to its potential to cause cancer.

Reproductive Hazard f Recent evidence suggests that exposure to Glutaraldehyde is not a risk factor for spontaneous abortions.

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Workplace Controls and Practices Eye Protection Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or f Wear indirect-vent, impact and splash resistant goggles sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less when working with liquids. toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures f If additional protection is needed for the entire face, use in include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely combination with a face shield. A face shield should not be irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust used without another type of eye protection. ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control Respiratory Protection exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control should only be used if the employer has implemented a written Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. program that takes into account workplace conditions, requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and The following work practices are also recommended: medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory f Label process containers. Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). f Provide employees with hazard information and training. f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. f Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.05 ppm, use f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed a NIOSH approved full facepiece respirator with an organic recommended exposure levels. vapor cartridge. Increased protection is obtained from full f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. facepiece powered-air purifying respirators. f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or material. cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect f Always wash at the end of the workshift. Glutaraldehyde, (2) while wearing particulate filters f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes abnormal resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye contaminated. irritation occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. f Do not take contaminated clothing home. Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. If it is, replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer f Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are good, you may need a new respirator. being handled, processed or stored. f Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. f Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges applying cosmetics or using the toilet. to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of chemicals. In addition, the following may be useful or required: f Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.5 ppm, use a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece f Where possible, use local exhaust ventilation and an operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure enclosed sterilization unit when mixing and activating mode. For increased protection use in combination with an Glutaraldehyde solution and for sterilization. auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus or an emergency escape air cylinder.

Personal Protective Equipment Fire Hazards The OSHA Personal Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR If employees are expected to fight fires, they must be trained 1910.132) requires employers to determine the appropriate and equipped as stated in the OSHA Fire Brigades Standard personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train (29 CFR 1910.156). employees on how and when to use protective equipment. f Extinguish fire using an agent suitable for type of surrounding fire. Glutaraldehyde itself does not burn. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may f POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE. not apply to every situation. f Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers cool.

Gloves and Clothing f Avoid skin contact with Glutaraldehyde. Wear personal protective equipment made from material which can not be

permeated or degraded by this substance. Safety equipment suppliers and manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most protective glove and clothing material for your operation. f Safety equipment manufacturers recommend Butyl, Neoprene, Viton and Barrier® for gloves, and Tychem® fabrics, or the equivalent, as protective materials for clothing. f All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) should be clean, available each day, and put on before work.

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Spills and Emergencies Occupational Health Information If employees are required to clean-up spills, they must be Resources properly trained and equipped. The OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard (29 CFR The New Jersey Department of Health offers multiple services 1910.120) may apply. in occupational health. These services include providing informational resources, educational materials, public If Glutaraldehyde is spilled or leaked, take the following steps: presentations, and industrial hygiene and medical investigations and evaluations. f Evacuate personnel and secure and control entrance to the area. f Eliminate all ignition sources. For more information, please contact: f Absorb liquids in dry sand, earth, or a similar material and

place into sealed containers for disposal. f Ventilate and wash area after clean-up is complete. New Jersey Department of Health f DO NOT wash into sewer. Right to Know f It may be necessary to contain and dispose of PO Box 368 Glutaraldehyde as a HAZARDOUS WASTE. Contact your Trenton, NJ 08625-0368 state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) or your Phone: 609-984-2202 regional office of the federal Environmental Protection Fax: 609-984-7407 Agency (EPA) for specific recommendations. E-mail: [email protected]

Web address: http://www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb

Handling and Storage The Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets

Prior to working with Glutaraldehyde you should be trained on are not intended to be copied and sold its proper handling and storage. for commercial purposes.

f Glutaraldehyde is not compatible with OXIDIZING AGENTS

(such as PERCHLORATES, PEROXIDES,

PERMANGANATES, CHLORATES, NITRATES,

CHLORINE, BROMINE and FLUORINE); STRONG BASES

(such as SODIUM HYDROXIDE and POTASSIUM

HYDROXIDE); AMINES; ALCOHOLS and KETONES. f Store in tightly closed containers in a cool, well-ventilated

area away from LIGHT.

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GLOSSARY

ACGIH is the American Conference of Governmental Industrial LEL or Lower Explosive Limit, is the lowest concentration of Hygienists. They publish guidelines called Threshold Limit a combustible substance (gas or vapor) in the air capable of Values (TLVs) for exposure to workplace chemicals. continuing an explosion.

mg/m3 means milligrams of a chemical in a cubic meter of air. Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) are established It is a measure of concentration (weight/volume). by the EPA. They describe the risk to humans resulting from once-in-a lifetime, or rare, exposure to airborne chemicals. A mutagen is a substance that causes mutations. A mutation

is a change in the genetic material in a body cell. Mutations Boiling point is the temperature at which a substance can can lead to birth defects, miscarriages, or cancer. change its physical state from a liquid to a gas.

NFPA is the National Fire Protection Association. It classifies A carcinogen is a substance that causes cancer. substances according to their fire and explosion hazard.

The CAS number is unique, identifying number, assigned by NIOSH is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and the Chemical Abstracts Service, to a specific chemical. Health. It tests equipment, evaluates and approves

respirators, conducts studies of workplace hazards, and CFR is the Code of Federal Regulations, which are the proposes standards to OSHA. regulations of the United States government.

NTP is the National Toxicology Program which tests chemicals A combustible substance is a solid, liquid or gas that will burn. and reviews evidence for cancer.

A corrosive substance is a gas, liquid or solid that causes OSHA is the federal Occupational Safety and Health destruction of human skin or severe corrosion of containers. Administration, which adopts and enforces health and safety

standards. The critical temperature is the temperature above which a gas cannot be liquefied, regardless of the pressure applied. PEOSHA is the New Jersey Public Employees Occupational

Safety and Health Act, which adopts and enforces health and DEP is the New Jersey Department of Environmental safety standards in public workplaces. Protection.

Permeated is the movement of chemicals through protective DOT is the Department of Transportation, the federal agency materials. that regulates the transportation of chemicals.

ppm means parts of a substance per million parts of air. It is a EPA is the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal measure of concentration by volume in air. agency responsible for regulating environmental hazards.

Protective Action Criteria (PAC) are values established by ERG is the Emergency Response Guidebook. It is a guide for the Department of Energy and are based on AEGLs and emergency responders for transportation emergencies ERPGs. They are used for emergency planning of chemical involving hazardous substances. release events.

Emergency Response Planning Guideline (ERPG) values A reactive substance is a solid, liquid or gas that releases provide estimates of concentration ranges where one energy under certain conditions. reasonably might anticipate observing adverse effects.

STEL is a Short Term Exposure Limit which is usually a 15- A fetus is an unborn human or animal. minute exposure that should not be exceeded at any time

during a work day. A flammable substance is a solid, liquid, vapor or gas that will ignite easily and burn rapidly. A teratogen is a substance that causes birth defects by

damaging the fetus. The flash point is the temperature at which a liquid or solid gives off vapor that can form a flammable mixture with air. UEL or Upper Explosive Limit is the highest concentration in

air above which there is too much fuel (gas or vapor) to begin a IARC is the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a reaction or explosion. scientific group.

Vapor Density is the ratio of the weight of a given volume of Ionization Potential is the amount of energy needed to one gas to the weight of another (usually Air), at the same remove an electron from an atom or molecule. It is measured temperature and pressure. in electron volts.

The vapor pressure is a force exerted by the vapor in IRIS is the Integrated Risk Information System database on equilibrium with the solid or liquid phase of the same human health effects that may result from exposure to various substance. The higher the vapor pressure the higher chemicals, maintained by federal EPA. concentration of the substance in air.

Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet

Common Name: GLUTARALDEHYDE Synonyms: 1,3-Diformylpropane; Glutaral; Cidex®; Procide® CAS No: 111-30-8 Molecular Formula: C5H8O2 RTK Substance No: 0960 Description: Colorless glass-like crystals that are usually in a 2% to 50% water solution

HAZARD DATA Hazard Rating Firefighting Reactivity 2 - Health Extinguish fire using an agent suitable for type of Glutaraldehyde is not compatible with OXIDIZING surrounding fire. Glutaraldehyde itself does not AGENTS (such as PERCHLORATES, PEROXIDES, 0 - Fire burn. PERMANGANATES, CHLORATES, NITRATES, 0 - Reactivity POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE. CHLORINE, BROMINE and FLUORINE); STRONG BASES (such as SODIUM HYDROXIDE and Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers DOT#: UN 2810 POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE); AMINES; ALCOHOLS and cool. KETONES. ERG Guide #: 153 Hazard Class: 6.1 (Poison)

SPILL/LEAKS PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Isolation Distance: Odor Threshold: 0.04 ppm Flash Point: Nonflammable Spill (Small): 30 meters (100 feet) Vapor Density: 3.4 (air = 1) (Large): 60 meters (200 feet) Vapor Pressure: 17 mm Hg at 68oF (20oC); Fire: 800 meters (1/2 mile) o o <0.1 mm Hg at 68 F (20 C) for solutions Absorb liquids in dry sand, earth, or a similar material Specific Gravity: 1.1 (water = 1) and place into sealed containers for disposal. Water Solubility: Soluble DO NOT wash into sewer. Boiling Point: 369o to 372oF (187o to 189oC) Glutaraldehyde is very toxic to aquatic organisms. Freezing Point: <20oF (<-7oC)

Molecular Weight: 100.1

EXPOSURE LIMITS PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

NIOSH: 0.2 ppm; Ceiling Gloves: Butyl, Neoprene, Viton and Barrier® (>8-hr breakthrough) ACGIH: 0.05 ppm; Ceiling Coveralls: Tychem® fabrics (>8-hr breakthrough) The Protective Action Criteria values are: Respirator: SCBA PAC-1 = 0.2 ppm PAC-2 = 1 ppm PAC-3 = 5 ppm

HEALTH EFFECTS FIRST AID AND DECONTAMINATION Eyes: Irritation and burns Remove the person from exposure. Skin: Irritation and burns Flush eyes with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes. Remove Inhalation: Nose, throat and lung irritation with contact lenses if worn. Seek medical attention. coughing and wheezing and shortness Quickly remove contaminated clothing and wash contaminated skin with of breath large amounts of water.

Headache, nausea and vomiting. Begin artificial respiration if breathing has stopped and CPR if necessary. Transfer promptly to a medical facility. April 2010