Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE Synonyms: Clorox; Liquid Bleach; Sodium Oxychloride CAS Number: 7681-52-9 Chemical Name: Hypochlorous Acid, Sodium Salt RTK Substance Number: 1707 Date: April 2000 Revision: September 2008 DOT Number: UN 1791 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE BACK PAGE Sodium Hypochlorite is a clear, slightly yellow or green liquid Hazard Summary with a strong Chlorine odor. It is usually mixed in water and Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA used as a household cleaner, a disinfectant, and a bleaching HEALTH 3 - agent. It is also used in water treatment and purification. FLAMMABILITY 0 - REACTIVITY 0 - CORROSIVE POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; Reasons for Citation 4=severe f Sodium Hypochlorite is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance List because it is cited by DOT, IARC and EPA. f Sodium Hypochlorite can affect you when inhaled. f This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance f Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes with List. possible eye damage. f Inhaling Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate the nose and throat. f Inhaling Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate the lungs. Higher SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency. FIRST AID f Exposure to Sodium Hypochlorite can cause headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Eye Contact f Sodium Hypochlorite 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 immediately. Skin Contact Workplace Exposure Limits f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash contaminated skin with large amounts of water. Seek NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit (REL) is medical attention. 0.5 ppm (as Chlorine), which should not be exceeded during any 15-minute work period. Inhalation f Remove the person from exposure. f Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if AIHA: The American Industrial Hygiene Association breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. recommends a Workplace Environmental Exposure f Transfer promptly to a medical facility. Level (WEEL) of 2 mg/m3 for a 15-minute work f Medical observation is recommended for 24 to 48 hours after period. overexposure, as pulmonary edema may be delayed. EMERGENCY NUMBERS Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at f Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data some time after exposure to Sodium Hypochlorite and can Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product last for months or years: ingredients and important safety and health information about the product mixture. Cancer Hazard f While Sodium Hypochlorite has been tested, it is not f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New classifiable as to its potential to cause cancer. Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet, available on the RTK website Reproductive Hazard (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK f According to the information presently available to the New Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. Jersey Department of Health, Sodium Hypochlorite has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. f You have a right to this information under the New Jersey Worker and Community Right to Know Act, the Public Other Effects Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act f Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate the lungs. Repeated if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the exposure may cause bronchitis to develop with coughing, federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. are a private worker. f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers to label chemicals in the workplace and Medical requires public employers to provide their employees with Medical Testing information concerning chemical hazards and controls. If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 following is recommended: CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide f Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure 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 Mixed Exposures Acute Health Effects f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen immediately or shortly after exposure to Sodium respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if Hypochlorite: you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce your risk of developing health problems. f Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin causing a rash and blisters. f Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate and burn the eyes with possible eye damage. f Inhaling Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate the nose and throat. f Inhaling Sodium Hypochlorite can irritate the lungs causing coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. f Exposure to Sodium Hypochlorite can cause headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices f Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or f Do not wear contact lenses when working with this sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less substance. toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust Respiratory Protection ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control should only be used if the employer has implemented a written exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on program that takes into account workplace conditions, workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory The following work practices are also recommended: Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). 3 f Label process containers. f Where the potential exists for exposure over 2 mg/m , (or f Provide employees with hazard information and training. over 0.5 ppm as Chlorine), use a NIOSH approved full f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. facepiece respirator with an acid gas cartridge and N100 f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed particulate prefilters. Increased protection is obtained from recommended exposure levels. full facepiece powered-air purifying respirators. f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect material. Sodium Hypochlorite, (2) while wearing particulate filters f Always wash at the end of the workshift. abnormal resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes irritation occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. contaminated. Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. f Do not take contaminated clothing home. If it is, replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. good, you may need a new respirator. f Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are f Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. being handled, processed or stored. You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges f Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of chemicals. applying cosmetics or using the toilet. 3 f Where the potential exists for exposure over 20 mg/m (or over 5 ppm as Chlorine), use a NIOSH approved supplied- air respirator with a full facepiece operated in a pressure- Personal Protective Equipment demand or other positive-pressure mode. For increased protection use in combination with an auxiliary self-contained The OSHA Personal Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR breathing apparatus operated in a pressure-demand or other 1910.132) requires employers to determine the appropriate positive-pressure mode. personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train f Exposure to 30 ppm (as Chlorine) is immediately dangerous employees on how and when to use protective equipment. to life and health. If the possibility of exposure above 30 ppm exists, use a NIOSH approved self-contained The following recommendations are only guidelines and may breathing apparatus with a full facepiece operated in a not apply to every situation.