Methyl Hydrazine Hazard Summary Identification
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Common Name: METHYL HYDRAZINE CAS Number: 60-34-4 DOT Number: UN 1244 (PIH) RTK Substance number: 1265 DOT Hazard Class: 6.1 (Poison) Date: May 1998 Revision: July 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING * Methyl Hydrazine can affect you when breathed in and by EXPOSED passing through your skin. The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers to * Methyl Hydrazine should be handled as a label chemicals in the workplace and requires public CARCINOGEN--WITH EXTREME CAUTION. employers to provide their employees with information and * Methyl Hydrazine is a HIGHLY CORROSIVE training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal CHEMICAL and contact can severely irritate and burn the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, requires skin and eyes with possible eye damage. private employers to provide similar training and information * Breathing Methyl Hydrazine can irritate the nose and to their employees. throat. * Breathing Methyl Hydrazine can irritate the lungs causing * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area air cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results from medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. your employer. You have a legal right to this information * High levels can interfere with the ability of the blood to under OSHA 1910.1020. carry Oxygen causing headache, fatigue, dizziness, and a * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health blue color to the skin and lips (methemoglobinemia). problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational Higher levels can cause trouble breathing, collapse and diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. even death. * ODOR THRESHOLD = 1.7 ppm. * Exposure to Methyl Hydrazine may cause excitability, * The range of accepted odor threshold values is quite broad. nausea, vomiting, tremors, convulsions and death. Caution should be used in relying on odor alone as a * Methyl Hydrazine may damage the liver and kidneys. warning of potentially hazardous exposures. * Methyl Hydrazine is a FLAMMABLE and REACTIVE chemical and a DANGEROUS FIRE and EXPLOSION WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS HAZARD. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit * Methyl Hydrazine is a DOT Poison Inhalation Hazard (PEL) is 0.2 ppm, not to be exceeded at any time. (PIH). NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is 0.04 ppm, which should not be exceeded during IDENTIFICATION any 2-hour period. Methyl Hydrazine is a clear, colorless liquid with an ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Ammonia-like odor. It is used in missile propellants, as a 0.01 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift. solvent, and in making other chemicals. * Methyl Hydrazine may be a CARCINOGEN in humans. REASON FOR CITATION There may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so * Methyl Hydrazine is on the Hazardous Substance List all contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level. because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When DOT, NIOSH, DEP, NFPA and EPA. skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance though air levels are less than the limits listed above. List because it is a CARCINOGEN and is FLAMMABLE, REACTIVE and CORROSIVE. * Definitions are provided on page 5. METHYL HYDRAZINE page 2 of 6 WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE Other Long-Term Effects * Enclose operations and use local exhaust ventilation at the * Methyl Hydrazine may damage the liver and kidneys. site of chemical release. If local exhaust ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. MEDICAL * Wear protective work clothing. * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Methyl Medical Testing Hydrazine and at the end of the workshift. Before beginning employment and at regular times after that (at * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In least annually), the following are recommended: addition, as part of an ongoing education and training effort, communicate all information on the health and safety * Lung function tests. hazards of Methyl Hydrazine to potentially exposed workers. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the following are recommended: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all * Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure. potential and most severe health hazards that may result from * Liver and kidney function tests. exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance * Blood methemoglobin level. and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential effects described below. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and --------------------------------------------------------------------------- present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION exposure. Acute Health Effects Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. immediately or shortly after exposure to Methyl Hydrazine: Mixed Exposures * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes * Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung with possible eye damage. cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may * Breathing Methyl Hydrazine can irritate the nose and worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. throat. Even if you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will * Breathing Methyl Hydrazine can irritate the lungs causing reduce your risk of developing health problems. coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may * Because more than light alcohol consumption can cause cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a liver damage, drinking alcohol can increase the liver medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. damage caused by Methyl Hydrazine. * High levels can interfere with the ability of the blood to carry Oxygen causing headache, fatigue, dizziness, and a WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES blue color to the skin and lips (methemoglobinemia). Higher levels can cause trouble breathing, collapse and Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous even death. substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most * Exposure to Methyl Hydrazine may cause excitability, effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to nausea, vomiting, tremors, convulsions and death. enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also Chronic Health Effects reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is some time after exposure to Methyl Hydrazine and can last for sometimes necessary. months or years: In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: Cancer Hazard (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * Methyl Hydrazine may be a CARCINOGEN in humans substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether since it has been shown to cause lung and liver cancer in harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls animals. should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. a carcinogen. In addition, the following controls are recommended: Reproductive Hazard * There is limited evidence that Methyl Hydrazine is a * Where possible, automatically pump liquid Methyl teratogen in animals. Until further testing has been done, it Hydrazine from drums or other storage containers to should be treated as a possible teratogen in humans. process containers. * Before entering a confined space where Methyl Hydrazine * Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this may be present, check to make sure that an explosive substance. concentration does not exist. Respiratory Protection Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a written program that takes into account workplace conditions, * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Methyl requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and Hydrazine should change into clean clothing promptly. medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by individuals who have been informed of the hazards of * Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.01 ppm, use exposure to Methyl Hydrazine. a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- work area for emergency use. pressure mode. For increased protection use in combination * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency with an auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus shower facilities should be