Common Name: DIETHYL ETHER CAS Number: 60-29-7 RTK Substance number: 0701 DOT Number: UN 1155 Date: January 1996 Revision: April 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Diethyl Ether can affect you when breathed in. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. (PEL) is 400 ppm averaged over an 8-hour * Breathing Diethyl Ether can irritate the nose and throat. workshift. * Breathing Diethyl Ether can cause drowsiness, excitement, dizziness, vomiting, irregular breathing, and ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is increased saliva. High exposure can cause 400 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift and unconsciousness and even death. 500 ppm as a STEL (short-term exposure limit). * High exposure may affect the kidneys. * Repeated or prolonged skin contact can cause drying, WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE scaling and cracking of the skin. * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust * Diethyl Ether is a HIGHLY FLAMMABLE LIQUID and ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust a DANGEROUS FIRE HAZARD. ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. IDENTIFICATION * Wear protective work clothing. Diethyl Ether is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor. It is * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to widely used as a solvent and to manufacture other chemicals. Diethyl Ether and at the end of the workshift. It has also been used as an anesthetic. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training REASON FOR CITATION effort, communicate all information on the health and * Diethyl Ether is on the Hazardous Substance List because safety hazards of Diethyl Ether to potentially exposed it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, DOT, DEP, workers. NFPA and EPA. * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance List because it is FLAMMABLE. * Definitions are provided on page 5. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers 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. * 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. DIETHYL ETHER 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 Diethyl Ether: In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether * Breathing Diethyl Ether can irritate the nose and throat. harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls * Breathing Diethyl Ether can cause drowsiness, excitement, should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when dizziness, vomiting, irregular breathing, and increased significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. saliva. High exposure can cause unconsciousness and even In addition, the following controls are recommended: death. * High exposure may affect the kidneys. * Where possible, automatically pump liquid Diethyl Ether Chronic Health Effects from drums or other storage containers to process containers. The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at * Before entering a confined space where Diethyl Ether may some time after exposure to Diethyl Ether and can last for be present, check to make sure that an explosive months or years: concentration does not exist. Cancer Hazard Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous * According to the information presently available to the New exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Diethyl Ether has not been tested for its ability to cause * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by cancer in animals. Diethyl Ether should change into clean clothing promptly. Reproductive Hazard * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by individuals who have been informed of the hazards of * There is an association between exposure to anesthetic exposure to Diethyl Ether. gases and increases in miscarriages and birth defects among * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate operating room staff and their families. Diethyl Ether’s work area for emergency use. role is unclear at this time. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency shower facilities should be provided. Other Long-Term Effects * On skin contact with Diethyl Ether, immediately wash or * Repeated or prolonged skin contact can cause drying, shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the scaling and cracking of the skin. workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have contacted Diethyl Ether, whether or not known skin MEDICAL contact has occurred. * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Diethyl Ether is Medical Testing handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, following are recommended: applying cosmetics, smoking, or using the toilet. * Kidney function tests. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs exposure. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace controls are being installed), personal protective equipment Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right may be appropriate. to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. DIETHYL ETHER page 3 of 6 OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the * Exposure to 1,900 ppm is immediately dangerous to life appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and and health. If the possibility of exposure above 1,900 ppm to train employees on how and when to use protective exists, use a NIOSH approved self-contained breathing equipment. apparatus with a full facepiece operated in a pressure- demand or other positive-pressure mode. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may not apply to every situation. HANDLING AND STORAGE Clothing * Prior to working with Diethyl Ether you should be trained * Avoid skin contact with Diethyl Ether. Wear protective on its proper handling and storage. gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ * Diethyl Ether must be stored to avoid contact with manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most OXIDIZING AGENTS (such as PERCHLORATES, protective glove/clothing material for your operation. PEROXIDES, PERMANGANATES, CHLORATES, * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) NITRATES, CHLORINE, BROMINE and FLUORINE); should be clean, available each day, and put on before STRONG ACIDS (such as HYDROCHLORIC, work. SULFURIC and NITRIC); SULFUR; SULFUR * ACGIH recommends Polyvinyl Alcohol and Polyvinyl COMPOUNDS; and HALOGENS since violent reactions Chloride as protective materials. occur. * Store in tightly closed containers in a cool, well-ventilated Eye Protection area away from HEAT and LIGHT. * Wear indirect-vent, impact and splash resistant goggles * Unstable Peroxides may form if Diethyl Ether is exposed when working with liquids. for a long time to AIR or LIGHT, causing explosions . * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with * Sources of ignition, such as smoking and open flames, are corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. prohibited where Diethyl Ether is used, handled, or stored. * Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this * Metal containers involving the transfer of Diethyl Ether substance. should be grounded and bonded. * Use only non-sparking tools and equipment, especially Respiratory Protection when opening and closing containers of Diethyl Ether. IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS