Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet
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Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: TELLURIUM Synonyms: Aurum Paradoxum; Telloy CAS Number: 13494-80-9 Chemical Name: Tellurium RTK Substance Number: 1777 Date: November 1999 Revision: April 2009 DOT Number: UN 1325 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE LAST PAGE Tellurium is an odorless, silvery-white crystalline (sand-like) Hazard Summary solid or a dark gray to brown powder. It is used as an additive Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA to metals, in vulcanizing rubber, and in storage batteries, and HEALTH 3 - as a coloring agent in glass and ceramics. FLAMMABILITY *3 - REACTIVITY 0 - *FLAMMABLE (FINELY DIVIDED Tellurium) POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE Reasons for Citation Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; f Tellurium is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance 4=severe List because it is cited by OSHA, ACGIH, DOT and NIOSH. f This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance List. f Tellurium can affect you when inhaled. f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. f Exposure can irritate the nose and throat. f Inhaling Tellurium can irritate the lungs. Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency. f Exposure to Tellurium can cause headache, fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness and weakness. SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. f Repeated exposure can cause garlic odor to the breath, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and upset stomach, FIRST AID metallic taste and irritability. Eye Contact f Prolonged or repeated exposure can cause drying and f Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 cracking of the skin with redness. minutes, lifting upper and lower lids. Remove contact f Tellurium may affect the liver and kidneys. lenses, if worn, while rinsing. f High exposure may damage the nervous system. f Finely divided Tellurium is a FLAMMABLE SOLID and can Skin Contact form explosive mixtures in air. f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash contaminated skin with large amounts of soap and water. Workplace Exposure Limits Inhalation OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit (PEL) is f Remove the person from exposure. 0.1 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. 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. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit (REL) is f Medical observation is recommended for 24 to 48 hours after 0.1 mg/m3 averaged over a 10-hour workshift. overexposure, as pulmonary edema may be delayed. ACGIH: The threshold limit value (TLV) is 0.1 mg/m3 EMERGENCY NUMBERS averaged over an 8-hour workshift. Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 TELLURIUM Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Reproductive Hazard f At doses that are severely toxic to the mother, Tellurium f Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data produces teratogenic effects. Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product ingredients and important safety and health information Other Effects about the product mixture. f Repeated exposure can cause garlic odor to the breath, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and upset stomach, f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New metallic taste, and irritability. Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact f Prolonged or repeated exposure can cause drying and Sheet, available on the RTK website cracking of the skin with redness. (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK f Tellurium may affect the liver and kidneys. Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. f High exposure may damage the nervous system. f You have a right to this information under the New Jersey Worker and Community Right to Know Act, the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act Medical if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the Medical Testing federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you For frequent or potentially high exposure (half the PEL or are a private worker. greater), the following are recommended before beginning work and at regular times after that: f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers to label chemicals in the workplace and f Liver and kidney function tests requires public employers to provide their employees with information concerning chemical hazards and controls. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 following are recommended: CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication f Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide f Exam of the nervous system similar information and training to their employees. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other exposure. factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential effects described below. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). Health Hazard Information Acute Health Effects Mixed Exposures The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, immediately or shortly after exposure to Tellurium: emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce f Exposure can irritate the nose and throat. your risk of developing health problems. f Inhaling Tellurium can irritate the lungs causing coughing f More than light alcohol consumption can cause liver and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may cause a damage. Drinking alcohol can increase the liver damage build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical caused by Tellurium. emergency, with severe shortness of breath. f Exposure to Tellurium can cause headache, fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness and weakness. Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Tellurium and can last for months or years: Cancer Hazard f According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health, Tellurium has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. TELLURIUM Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices Eye Protection Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or f Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less f If additional protection is needed for the entire face, use in toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures combination with a face shield. A face shield should not be include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely used without another type of eye protection. irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single Respiratory Protection exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on should only be used if the employer has implemented a written workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control program that takes into account workplace conditions, Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and The following work practices are also recommended: medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). f Label process containers. 3 f Provide employees with hazard information and training. f Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.1 mg/m , use f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. a NIOSH approved negative pressure, air-purifying, f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed particulate filter respirator with an N, R or P95 filter. More recommended exposure levels. protection is provided by a full facepiece respirator than by a f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. half-mask respirator, and even greater protection is provided f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous by a powered-air purifying respirator. material. f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or f Always wash at the end of the workshift. cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes Tellurium, (2) while wearing particulate filters abnormal contaminated. resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye irritation f Do not take contaminated clothing home. occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. Check to f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. If it is, f Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer good, being handled, processed or stored. you may need a new respirator. f Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, f Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. applying cosmetics or using the toilet. You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges 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: 3 f Where the potential exists for exposure over 1 mg/m , use a f Before entering a confined space where finely divided NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece Tellurium may be present, check to make sure that an operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure explosive concentration does not exist.