COLCHICINE CAS Number
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Common Name: COLCHICINE CAS Number: 64-86-8 RTK Substance number: 2263 DOT Number: UN 3249 Date: March 1999 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Colchicine can affect you when breathed in. * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely * Colchicine may cause mutations. Handle with extreme evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area caution. air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results * Colchicine can irritate and burn the eyes, skin, nose and from your employer. You have a legal right to this throat. information under OSHA 1910.1020. * Exposure to Colchicine can cause nausea, vomiting, * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health diarrhea, loss of appetite and stomach pain. problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational * Breathing Colchicine can irritate the lungs causing diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of No occupational exposure limits have been established for breath. Colchicine. This does not mean that this substance is not * Colchicine can affect the heart causing the heart to beat harmful. Safe work practices should always be followed. irregularly (arrhythmia). * Colchicine may damage the liver and kidneys and cause * Colchicine may cause mutations. All contact with this anemia. chemical should be reduced to the lowest possible level. * High exposure can cause headache, confusion, muscle weakness, coma and death. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust IDENTIFICATION ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust Colchicine is a pale yellow, nearly odorless powder which ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be darkens on exposure to light. It is used as a medication in the worn. treatment of gout and in research. * Wear protective work clothing. * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to REASON FOR CITATION Colchicine. * Colchicine is on the Hazardous Substance List because it * The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has set is cited by EPA. standards for Good Manufacturing Practices for Drugs and * Definitions are provided on page 5. Pharmaceuticals. These should be followed for your protection as well as product quality. See the FDA HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING regulation 21 CFR 210. EXPOSED * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers addition, as part of an ongoing education and training to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public effort, communicate all information on the health and employers to provide their employees with information and safety hazards of Colchicine to potentially exposed training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The workers. federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, requires private employers to provide similar training and information to their employees. COLCHICINE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal potential and most severe health hazards that may result from right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to Mixed Exposures any of the potential effects described below. * Because more than light alcohol consumption can cause --------------------------------------------------------------------------- liver damage, drinking alcohol may increase the liver damage caused by Colchicine. HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION * Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may Acute Health Effects worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur exposure. Even if you have smoked for a long time, immediately or shortly after exposure to Colchicine: stopping now will reduce your risk of developing health problems. * Colchicine can irritate and burn the eyes, skin, nose and throat. WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES * Exposure to Colchicine can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and stomach pain. Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous * Breathing Colchicine can irritate the lungs causing substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to can cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also breath. reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is * Colchicine can affect the heart causing the heart to beat less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is irregularly (arrhythmia). sometimes necessary. Chronic Health Effects In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the some time after exposure to Colchicine and can last for substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether months or years: harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when Cancer Hazard significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. * Colchicine may cause mutations (genetic changes). Whether or not it poses a cancer hazard needs further In addition, the following controls are recommended: study. * Where possible, automatically transfer Colchicine from Reproductive Hazard drums or other storage containers to process containers. * Colchicine may damage the testes (lowered sperm count). * Specific engineering controls are required for drug manufacture by the Food and Drug Administration. Refer Other Long-Term Effects to the FDA regulation for Good Manufacturing Practices * Colchicine may damage the liver and kidneys and cause 21 CFR 210. anemia. * High exposure can cause headache, confusion, muscle Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous exposures. The following work practices are recommended: weakness, coma and death. MEDICAL * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Colchicine should change into clean clothing promptly. Medical Testing * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family members could be exposed. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the following are recommended: * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by individuals who have been informed of the hazards of * Complete blood count. exposure to Colchicine. * Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate * Liver and kidney function tests. work area for emergency use. * EKG * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency shower facilities should be provided. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and * On skin contact with Colchicine, immediately wash or present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for shower to remove the chemical. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. COLCHICINE page 3 of 6 * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Colchicine is handled, * NIOSH has established new testing and certification processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swallowed. requirements for negative pressure, air purifying, Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, smoking, or particulate filter and filtering facepiece respirators. The using the toilet. filter classifications of dust/mist/fume, paint spray or * Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during pesticide prefilters, and filters for radon daughters, have clean-up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. been replaced with the N, R, and P series. Each series has three levels of filtering efficiency: 95%, 99%, and 99.9%. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Check with your safety equipment supplier or your respirator manufacturer to determine which respirator is WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN appropriate for your facility. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for * If while wearing a filter or cartridge respirator you can some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs smell, taste, or otherwise detect Colchicine, or if while done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace wearing particulate filters abnormal resistance to breathing controls are being installed), personal protective equipment is experienced, or eye irritation occurs while wearing a full may be appropriate. facepiece respirator, leave the area immediately. Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. If it is, OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer good, appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and you may need a new respirator. to train employees on how and when to use protective * Be sure to consider all potential exposures in your equipment. workplace. You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of The following recommendations are only guidelines and may a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture