Calcium Hydroxide Hazard Summary Identification
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Common Name: CALCIUM HYDROXIDE CAS Number: 1305-62-0 DOT Number: None RTK Substance number: 0322 DOT Hazard Class: None Date: April 1998 Revision: June 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Calcium Hydroxide can affect you when breathed in. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes (PEL) is 15 mg/m3 for total dust and 5 mg/m3 with possible eye damage. for respirable dust averaged over an 8-hour * Breathing Calcium Hydroxide can irritate the nose, throat workshift. and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is 3 5 mg/m averaged over a 10-hour workshift. IDENTIFICATION ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Calcium Hydroxide is a soft, white, powdery material with a 3 bitter taste. It is used in mortar, plaster, cement, and other 5 mg/m averaged over an 8-hour workshift. building and paving materials. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE REASON FOR CITATION * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust * Calcium Hydroxide is on the Hazardous Substance List ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH and ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be NIOSH. worn. * Definitions are provided on page 5. * Wear protective work clothing. * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Calcium HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING Hydroxide and at the end of the workshift. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In EXPOSED addition, as part of an ongoing education and training The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers effort, communicate all information on the health and to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public safety hazards of Calcium Hydroxide to potentially employers to provide their employees with information and exposed workers. 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. * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. CALCIUM HYDROXIDE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all Mixed Exposures potential and most severe health hazards that may result from * Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. potential effects described below. Even if you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will --------------------------------------------------------------------------- reduce your risk of developing health problems. HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES Acute Health Effects Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most immediately or shortly after exposure to Calcium Hydroxide: effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also with possible eye damage. reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is * Breathing Calcium Hydroxide can irritate the nose, throat less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of sometimes necessary. breath. In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: Chronic Health Effects (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether some time after exposure to Calcium Hydroxide and can last harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls for months or years: should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Cancer Hazard * According to the information presently available to the New In addition, the following control is recommended: Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Calcium Hydroxide has not been tested for its ability to cause * Where possible, automatically transfer Calcium Hydroxide cancer in animals. from drums or other storage containers to process containers. Reproductive Hazard * According to the information presently available to the New Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Calcium exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Hydroxide has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Calcium Hydroxide should change into clean clothing Other Long-Term Effects promptly. * No chronic (long-term) health effects are known at this * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family time. members could be exposed. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by MEDICAL individuals who have been informed of the hazards of exposure to Calcium Hydroxide. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate Medical Testing work area for emergency use. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency following are recommended: shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Calcium Hydroxide, immediately * Lung function tests. wash or shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and contacted Calcium Hydroxide, whether or not known skin present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for contact has occurred. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Calcium Hydroxide is exposure. handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right smoking, or using the toilet. to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. * Use a vacuum to reduce dust during clean-up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. CALCIUM HYDROXIDE page 3 of 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT * Be sure to consider all potential exposures in your workplace. You may need a combination of filters, WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of a PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs chemicals. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace * Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a controls are being installed), personal protective equipment MSHA/NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full may be appropriate. facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- pressure mode. For increased protection use in combination OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the with an auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure to train employees on how and when to use protective mode. equipment. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS The following recommendations are only guidelines and may not apply to every situation. Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic health effects? Clothing A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from * Avoid skin contact with Calcium Hydroxide. Wear repeated exposures to a chemical. protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/manufacturers can provide recommendations on Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- the most protective glove/clothing material for your term effects? operation. A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated * Safety equipment manufacturers recommend Natural exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to make Rubber as a protective material. you immediately sick. * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) should be clean, available each day, and put on before Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been work. exposed to chemicals? Eye Protection A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is * Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. determined by the length of time and the amount of * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with material to which someone is exposed. corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. Respiratory Protection Q: When are higher exposures more likely? A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include dust IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Such equipment