Common Name: DIETHYLALUMINUM CHLORIDE HAZARD SUMMARY
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Common Name: DIETHYLALUMINUM CHLORIDE CAS Number: 96-10-6 RTK Substance number: 0689 DOT Number: UN 3052 Date: December 1995 Revision: June 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Diethylaluminum Chloride can affect you when breathed * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health in. problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. with possible eye damage. * Breathing Diethylaluminum Chloride can irritate the WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or The following exposure limits are for Aluminum Alkyls shortness of breath. (measured as Aluminum): * Diethylaluminum Chloride is a HIGHLY FLAMMABLE and REACTIVE chemical and a NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is DANGEROUS FIRE and EXPLOSION HAZARD. 2 mg/m3 averaged over a 10-hour workshift. IDENTIFICATION ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Diethylaluminum Chloride is a colorless liquid which 2 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. ignites instantly on contact with air. It is often shipped in solution with a Hydrocarbon solvent. It is used as a catalyst WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE and as an intermediate in the production of other chemicals. * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust REASON FOR CITATION ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be * Diethylaluminum Chloride is on the Hazardous worn. Substance List because it is cited by ACGIH, DOT, * Wear protective work clothing. NIOSH and NFPA. * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance Diethylaluminum Chloride and at the end of the List because it is FLAMMABLE and REACTIVE. workshift. * Definitions are provided on page 5. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING effort, communicate all information on the health and EXPOSED safety hazards of Diethylaluminum Chloride to The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers potentially exposed workers. to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public employers to provide their employees with information and training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, requires private employers to provide similar training and information to their employees. * 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. DIETHYLALUMINUM CHLORIDE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES potential and most severe health hazards that may result from exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most potential effects described below. effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to -------------------------------------------------------------------------- enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Acute Health Effects sometimes necessary. The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Diethylaluminum In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: Chloride: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls with possible eye damage. should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * Breathing Diethylaluminum Chloride can irritate the nose, significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. In addition, the following controls are recommended: Chronic Health Effects * Where possible, automatically pump liquid The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at Diethylaluminum Chloride from drums or other storage some time after exposure to Diethylaluminum Chloride and containers to process containers. can last for months or years: * Before entering a confined space where Diethylaluminum Chloride may be present, check to make sure that an Cancer Hazard explosive concentration does not exist. * According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Diethylaluminum Chloride has not been tested for its exposures. The following work practices are recommended: ability to cause cancer in animals. * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Reproductive Hazard Diethylaluminum Chloride should change into clean * According to the information presently available to the New clothing promptly. Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by Diethylaluminum Chloride has not been tested for its individuals who have been informed of the hazards of ability to affect reproduction. exposure to Diethylaluminum Chloride. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate Other Long-Term Effects work area for emergency use. * No chronic (long-term) health effects are known at this * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency time. shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Diethylaluminum Chloride, immediately wash or shower to remove the chemical. At MEDICAL the end of the workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have contacted Diethylaluminum Chloride, whether Medical Testing or not known skin contact has occurred. There is no special test for this chemical. However, if illness * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Diethylaluminum occurs or overexposure is suspected, medical attention is Chloride is handled, processed, or stored, since the recommended. chemical can be swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, smoking, or using the toilet. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace controls are being installed), personal protective equipment may be appropriate. DIETHYLALUMINUM CHLORIDE page 3 of 6 OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the * Diethylaluminum Chloride must be stored under appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and Nitrogen or other inert gas blanket as it will catch on fire to train employees on how and when to use protective when exposed to AIR. equipment. * Protect containers from physical damage; outside or detached storage is preferred. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may * Sources of ignition, such as smoking and open flames, are not apply to every situation. prohibited where Diethylaluminum Chloride is used, handled, or stored. Clothing * Metal containers involving the transfer of * Avoid skin contact with Diethylaluminum Chloride. Diethylaluminum Chloride should be grounded and Wear protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment bonded. Drums must be equipped with self-closing valves, suppliers/manufacturers can provide recommendations on pressure vacuum bungs, and flame arresters. the most protective glove/clothing material for your * Use only non-sparking tools and equipment, especially operation. when opening and closing containers of Diethylaluminum * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) Chloride. should be clean, available each day, and put on before * Wherever Diethylaluminum Chloride is used, handled, work. manufactured, or stored, use explosion-proof electrical equipment and fittings. Eye Protection * Wear indirect-vent, impact and splash resistant goggles QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS when working with liquids. * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. health effects? * Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from substance. repeated exposures to a chemical. Respiratory Protection Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. term effects? Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated written program that takes into account workplace conditions, exposures to a chemical at levels not high