Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: SODIUM CHROMATE Synonyms: Disodium Chromate; Chromate of Soda CAS Number: 7775-11-3 Chemical Name: Chromic Acid (H2CrO4), Disodium Salt RTK Substance Number: 1692 Date: October 2001 Revision: October 2008 DOT Number: UN 3288 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE BACK PAGE Sodium Chromate is an odorless, yellow, crystalline (sand- Hazard Summary like) solid. It is used to make pigments for paints and inks, and Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA as a wood preservative and corrosion inhibitor. HEALTH 4 - FLAMMABILITY 0 - REACTIVITY 0 - CARCINOGEN OXIDIZER POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE Reasons for Citation Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; f Sodium Chromate is on the Right to Know Hazardous 4=severe Substance List because it is cited by OSHA, ACGIH, DOT, NIOSH, NTP, DEP, IARC and EPA. f This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance f Sodium Chromate can affect you when inhaled and by List. passing through the skin. f Sodium Chromate is a CARCINOGEN. HANDLE WITH EXTREME CAUTION. f Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes with possible eye damage. f Inhaling Sodium Chromate can irritate the nose and throat. f Inhaling Sodium Chromate can cause a sore and/or a hole SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. in the “bone” (septum) dividing the inner nose. f Sodium Chromate may cause a skin allergy and an asthma-like allergy. FIRST AID f Sodium Chromate may damage the liver and kidneys. Eye Contact f Sodium Chromate is not combustible but is a STRONG f Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 30 OXIDIZER which enhances the combustion of other minutes, lifting upper and lower lids. Remove contact substances. lenses, if worn, while flushing. Seek medical attention. Skin Contact f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash Workplace Exposure Limits contaminated skin with large amounts of water. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit (PEL) is 0.005 mg/m3 (as hexavalent Chromium) averaged Inhalation over an 8-hour workshift. f Remove the person from exposure f Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit (REL) is 3 f Transfer promptly to a medical facility. 0.001 mg/m (as Chromium) averaged over a 10-hour workshift. EMERGENCY NUMBERS ACGIH: The threshold limit value (TLV) is 0.05 mg/m3 (as Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 Chromium) averaged over an 8-hour workshift. CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 f Sodium Chromate is a CARCINOGEN in humans. There NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so all National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level. f The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even though air levels are less than the limits listed above. SODIUM CHROMATE Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Other Effects f Inhaling Sodium Chromate can cause a sore and/or a hole f Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data in the “bone” (septum) dividing the inner nose, sometimes Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product with bleeding, discharge, and/or formation of a crust. ingredients and important safety and health information f Sodium Chromate may cause a skin allergy. If allergy about the product mixture. develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and a skin rash. f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New f Sodium Chromate may cause an asthma-like allergy. Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of Sheet, available on the RTK website breath, wheezing, coughing, and/or chest tightness. (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK f Prolonged skin contact can cause burns, blisters and deep Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. ulcers. f Sodium Chromate may damage the liver and kidneys. 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 if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the Medical federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you Medical Testing are a private worker. Before first exposure, and every twelve (12) months thereafter, OSHA requires your employer to provide (for persons exposed f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most to levels greater than 2.5 micrograms of Chromium VI per employers to label chemicals in the workplace and cubic meter of air) a work and medical history and exam requires public employers to provide their employees with which shall include: information concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 f Thorough physical examination f Lung function tests CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the similar information and training to their employees. following are recommended: This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information f Examine your skin periodically for little bumps or blisters, the regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. first sign of “chrome ulcers.” If not treated early, these can Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other last for years after exposure. factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential f Evaluation by a qualified allergist can help diagnose skin effects described below. allergy. f Liver and kidney function tests Health Hazard Information OSHA requires your employer to provide you and your doctor Acute Health Effects with a copy of the OSHA Chromium VI Standard (29 CFR The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur 1910.1026). immediately or shortly after exposure to Sodium Chromate: f Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes with possible Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and eye damage. present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for f Inhaling Sodium Chromate can irritate the nose and throat damage already done are not a substitute for controlling causing coughing and wheezing. exposure. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right Chronic Health Effects to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). some time after exposure to Sodium Chromate and can last for months or years: Mixed Exposures f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, Cancer Hazard emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen f Sodium Chromate is a CARCINOGEN in humans. There is respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if evidence that Hexavalent Chromium or Chromium VI you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce compounds cause lung cancer in humans. your risk of developing health problems. f Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen. f More than light alcohol consumption can cause liver damage. Drinking alcohol may increase the liver damage Reproductive Hazard caused by Sodium Chromate. f While Sodium Chromate has not been identified as a teratogen or a reproductive hazard, Hexavalent Chromium or Chromium VI compounds are teratogens and may also cause reproductive damage, such as reduced fertility and interference with menstrual cycles. Sodium Chromate should be handled WITH EXTREME CAUTION. SODIUM CHROMATE Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices f All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) should be clean, available each day, and put on before work. Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures Eye Protection include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely f Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust f Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control f Do not wear contact lenses when working with this exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on substance. workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. Respiratory Protection Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators The following work practices are also recommended: should only be used if the employer has implemented a written program that takes into account workplace conditions, f Label process containers. requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and f Provide employees with hazard information and training. medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). recommended exposure levels. 3 f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. f Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.005 mg/m f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous (as Chromium VI), use a NIOSH approved air-purifying, material. particulate filter respirator with an N95 filter. More protection f Always wash at the end of the workshift. is provided by a full facepiece respirator than by a half-mask f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes respirator, and even greater protection is provided by a contaminated. powered-air purifying respirator. f Do not take contaminated clothing home. f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing.