Common Name: AMMONIUM CARBAMATE CAS Number: 1111-78-0 RTK Substance number: 0091 DOT Number: NA 9083 Date: January 1996 Revision: March 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Ammonium Carbamate can affect you when breathed in. The following exposure limits are for Ammonia: * Exposure can irritate the skin and eyes causing redness and tearing. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit * Breathing Ammonium Carbamate can irritate the nose, (PEL) is 50 ppm averaged over an 8-hour throat and lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of workshift. breath. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is IDENTIFICATION 25 ppm averaged over a 10-hour workshift and Ammonium Carbamate is a white crystalline (sand-like) 35 ppm, not to be exceeded during any 15 minute powder. It is used as a fertilizer and ammoniating agent. work period. REASON FOR CITATION ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is 25 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift and * Ammonium Carbamate is on the Hazardous Substance 35 ppm as a STEL (short-term exposure limit). List because it is cited by DOT and EPA. * Definitions are provided on page 5. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust EXPOSED ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers worn. to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public * Wear protective work clothing. employers to provide their employees with information and * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The Ammonium Carbamate. federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In requires private employers to provide similar training and addition, as part of an ongoing education and training information to their employees. effort, communicate all information on the health and * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely safety hazards of Ammonium Carbamate to potentially evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area exposed workers. 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. AMMONIUM CARBAMATE 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 Ammonium effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to Carbamate: enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also * Exposure can irritate the skin and eyes causing redness and reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is tearing. less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is * Breathing Ammonium Carbamate can irritate the nose, sometimes necessary. throat and lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the Chronic Health Effects substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls some time after exposure to Ammonium Carbamate and can should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when last for months or years: significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Cancer Hazard In addition, the following control is recommended: * According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, * Where possible, automatically transfer Ammonium Ammonium Carbamate has not been tested for its ability Carbamate from drums or other storage containers to to cause cancer in animals. process containers. Reproductive 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, Ammonium Carbamate has not been tested for its ability * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by to affect reproduction. Ammonium Carbamate should change into clean clothing promptly. Other Long-Term Effects * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family * Ammonium Carbamate can irritate the lungs. Repeated members could be exposed. exposure may cause bronchitis to develop with cough, * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. individuals who have been informed of the hazards of exposure to Ammonium Carbamate. MEDICAL * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate work area for emergency use. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency Medical Testing shower facilities should be provided. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the * On skin contact with Ammonium Carbamate, following are recommended: immediately wash or shower to remove the chemical. * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Ammonium Carbamate * Lung function tests. is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and applying cosmetics, smoking, or using the toilet. present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for * Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during clean- damage already done are not a substitute for controlling up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. exposure. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. AMMONIUM CARBAMATE page 3 of 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT * Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for mode. For increased protection use in combination with an some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus operated in a done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode. controls are being installed), personal protective equipment * Exposure to 300 ppm (as Ammonia) is immediately may be appropriate. dangerous to life and health. If the possibility of exposure above 300 ppm (as Ammonia) exists, use a NIOSH OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the approved self-contained breathing apparatus with a full appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- to train employees on how and when to use protective pressure 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 Ammonium Carbamate. Wear repeated exposures to a chemical. protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- protective glove/clothing material for your operation. term effects? * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated should be clean, available each day, and put on before exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to make work. you immediately sick. Eye Protection Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been * Wear impact resistant eye protection with side shields or exposed to chemicals? goggles. A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. determined by the length of time and the amount of Respiratory Protection material to which someone is exposed. IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a written program that takes into account workplace conditions, A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure