Methyl Acetate Hazard Summary Identification
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Common Name: METHYL ACETATE CAS Number: 79-20-9 RTK Substance number: 1217 DOT Number: UN 1231 Date: December 1996 Revision: June 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Methyl Acetate can affect you when breathed in and by * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health passing through your skin. problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational * Contact can irritate and burn the eyes with possible diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. permanent damage. * ODOR THRESHOLD = 180 ppm. * Methyl Acetate can irritate the skin and cause itching, * The range of accepted odor threshold values is quite redness, rash, drying and cracking. broad. Caution should be used in relying on odor alone as * Breathing Methyl Acetate can irritate the nose and throat. a warning of potentially hazardous exposures. * Breathing Methyl Acetate can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of (PEL) is 200 ppm averaged over an 8-hour breath. workshift. * Exposure can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, nausea and passing out. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is * Methyl Acetate is a FLAMMABLE LIQUID and a FIRE 200 ppm averaged over a 10-hour workshift and HAZARD. 250 ppm, not to be exceeded during any 15 minute work period. IDENTIFICATION Methyl Acetate is a colorless liquid with a fruity odor. It is ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is used as a solvent in lacquers and paint removers and to make 200 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift and pharmaceuticals. 250 ppm as a STEL (short-term exposure limit). REASON FOR CITATION * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When * Methyl Acetate is on the Hazardous Substance List skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, though air levels are less than the limits listed above. DOT, NIOSH and NFPA. * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE List because it is FLAMMABLE. * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust * Definitions are provided on page 5. ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING worn. EXPOSED * Wear protective work clothing. The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Methyl to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public Acetate and at the end of the workshift. employers to provide their employees with information and * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The addition, as part of an ongoing education and training federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, effort, communicate all information on the health and requires private employers to provide similar training and safety hazards of Methyl Acetate to potentially exposed information to their employees. workers. * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results from your employer. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. METHYL ACETATE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the potential and most severe health hazards that may result from following is recommended: exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the * Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure. potential effects described below. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. Acute Health Effects The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right immediately or shortly after exposure to Methyl Acetate: to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. * Contact can irritate and burn the eyes. Mixed Exposures * Methyl Acetate can irritate the skin and cause itching, * Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung redness, rash, drying and cracking. cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may * Breathing Methyl Acetate can irritate the nose and throat. worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. * Breathing Methyl Acetate can irritate the lungs causing Even if you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures can reduce your risk of developing health problems. cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES * Exposure can cause dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, nausea and passing out. Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most Chronic Health Effects effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at some time after exposure to Methyl Acetate and can last for the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also months or years: reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Cancer Hazard sometimes necessary. * According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Methyl In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: Acetate has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the animals. substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls Reproductive Hazard should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * According to the information presently available to the New significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Methyl Acetate has not been tested for its ability to affect In addition, the following controls are recommended: reproduction. * Where possible, automatically pump liquid Methyl Acetate Other Long-Term Effects from drums or other storage containers to process containers. * Repeated exposure may cause eye damage with possible * Before entering a confined space where Methyl Acetate loss of vision. may be present, check to make sure that an explosive concentration does not exist. MEDICAL Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Medical Testing exposures. The following work practices are recommended: For those with frequent or potentially high exposure (half the PEL or greater), the following are recommended before * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Methyl beginning work and at regular times after that: Acetate should change into clean clothing promptly. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by * Lung function tests. individuals who have been informed of the hazards of * Vision exam. exposure to Methyl Acetate. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate work area for emergency use. METHYL ACETATE page 3 of 6 * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency * If while wearing a filter or cartridge respirator you can shower facilities should be provided. smell, taste, or otherwise detect Methyl Acetate, or if while * On skin contact with Methyl Acetate, immediately wash or wearing particulate filters abnormal resistance to breathing shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the is experienced, or eye irritation occurs while wearing a full workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have facepiece respirator, leave the area immediately. Check to contacted Methyl Acetate, whether or not known skin make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. If it is, contact has occurred. replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer good, * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Methyl Acetate is you may need a new respirator. handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be * Be sure to consider all potential exposures in your swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, workplace. You may need a combination of filters, applying cosmetics, smoking, or using the toilet. prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT chemicals. * Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a NIOSH WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs mode. For increased protection use in combination with an done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus operated