Common Name: URANYL NITRATE CAS Number: 10102-06-4 RTK Substance number: 1978 DOT Number: UN 2981 (Solid) Date: April 2000 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Uranyl Nitrate can affect you when breathed in and may * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health be absorbed through the skin. problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational * Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes with diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. possible eye damage. * Breathing Uranyl Nitrate can irritate the nose, throat and WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of The following exposure limits are for soluble Uranium breath. compounds (measured as Uranium): * High exposures to Uranyl Nitrate can cause nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, and convulsions. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit * Uranyl Nitrate may damage the liver and kidneys. (PEL) is 0.05 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour * Repeated exposure to Uranyl Nitrate may affect the brain. workshift. * CONSULT THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SENIOR SERVICES HAZARDOUS NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is SUBSTANCE FACT SHEET ON URANIUM. 0.05 mg/m3 averaged over a 10-hour workshift. IDENTIFICATION ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Uranyl Nitrate is a pale yellow, radioactive solid with no 0.2 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift odor. It is used in photographic processes, glazing ceramics, and 0.6 mg/m3 as a STEL (short term exposure and radiation shielding. limit). REASON FOR CITATION * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When * Uranyl Nitrate is on the Hazardous Substance List skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, though air levels are less than the limits listed above. DOT, NIOSH and EPA. * Exposure to radioactive materials is regulated by NRC and * Definitions are provided on page 5. OSHA. Refer to the NRC Standard 10 CFR 20 and the OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.96. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING EXPOSED WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust employers to provide their employees with information and ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The worn. federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, * Wear protective work clothing. requires private employers to provide similar training and * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Uranyl information to their employees. Nitrate and at the end of the workshift. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely addition, as part of an ongoing education and training evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area effort, communicate all information on the health and air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results safety hazards of Uranyl Nitrate to potentially exposed from your employer. You have a legal right to this workers. information under OSHA 1910.1020. URANYL NITRATE 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 more than light alcohol consumption can cause exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the liver damage, drinking alcohol may increase the liver substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to damage caused by Uranyl Nitrate. any of the potential effects described below. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most Acute Health Effects effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at immediately or shortly after exposure to Uranyl Nitrate: the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is * Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes with less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is possible eye damage. sometimes necessary. * Breathing Uranyl Nitrate can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: breath. (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * High exposures to Uranyl Nitrate can cause nausea, substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether vomiting, muscle weakness, and convulsions. harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when Chronic Health Effects significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Uranyl Nitrate and can last for In addition, the following control is recommended: months or years: * Where possible, automatically transfer Uranyl Nitrate Cancer Hazard from drums or other storage containers to process * There is no evidence that Uranyl Nitrate causes cancer in containers. animals. This is based on test results presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous from published studies. exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Reproductive Hazard * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Uranyl * There is limited evidence that Uranyl Nitrate is a Nitrate should change into clean clothing promptly. teratogen in animals. Until further testing has been done, it * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family should be treated as a possible teratogen in humans. members could be exposed. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by individuals who have been informed of the hazards of Other Long-Term Effects exposure to Uranyl Nitrate. * Uranyl Nitrate may damage the liver and kidneys. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate * Repeated exposure to Uranyl Nitrate may affect the brain. work area for emergency use. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency MEDICAL shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Uranyl Nitrate, immediately wash Medical Testing or shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the Before beginning employment and at regular times after that, workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have the following are recommended: contacted Uranyl Nitrate, whether or not known skin contact has occurred. * Liver and kidney function tests. * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Uranyl Nitrate is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for smoking, or using the toilet. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling * Employees exposed to ionizing radiation should be exposure. provided with personal monitoring equipment such as film badges or pocket dosimeters. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. URANYL NITRATE page 3 of 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for health effects? some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace from repeated exposures to a chemical. controls are being installed), personal protective equipment may be appropriate. Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- term effects? OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to to train employees on how and when to use protective make you immediately sick. equipment. Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been The following recommendations are only guidelines and may exposed to chemicals? not apply to every situation. A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is Clothing determined by the length of time and the amount of * Avoid skin contact with Uranyl Nitrate. Wear protective material to which someone is exposed. gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most Q: When are higher exposures more likely? protective glove/clothing material for your operation. A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include dust * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) releasing operations (grinding, mixing, blasting, should be clean, available each day, and put on before dumping, etc.), other physical and mechanical processes work. (heating, pouring, spraying, spills and evaporation from large surface