Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: SODIUM BROMATE Synonyms: None CAS Number: 7789-38-0 Chemical Name: Bromic Acid, Sodium Salt RTK Substance Number: 1686 Date: August 1999 Revision: March 2009 DOT Number: UN 1494 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE LAST PAGE Sodium Bromate is a colorless to white, crystalline (sand-like) Hazard Summary or granular, odorless powder. It is used in gold ore precessing, Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA as an analytical reagent and boiler cleaner, and in hair HEALTH 2 - preparations. FLAMMABILITY 0 - REACTIVITY 0 - STRONG OXIDIZER POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE CONTAINERS MAY EXPLODE IN FIRE Reasons for Citation f Sodium Bromate is on the Right to Know Hazardous Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; Substance List because it is cited by DOT. 4=severe f Sodium Bromate can affect you when inhaled. f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. f Sodium Bromate can irritate the nose and throat. f Inhaling Sodium Bromate can irritate the lungs. Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. (pulmonary edema), a medical emergency. f Exposure to Sodium Bromate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, FIRST AID stomach pain, and restlessness. f Eye Contact High levels of this substance can reduce the blood’s ability to f Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 transport Oxygen, causing headache, fatigue, dizziness, and minutes, lifting upper and lower lids. Remove contact a blue color to the skin and lips (methemoglobinemia). lenses, if worn, while rinsing. f Repeated exposure to high levels may affect the inner ear leading to ringing in the ears and hearing loss. f Sodium Bromate may damage the kidneys. Skin Contact f Sodium Bromate is not combustible, but it is a STRONG f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash OXIDIZER that enhances the combustion of other contaminated skin with large amounts of water. substances. Inhalation f Remove the person from exposure. f Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if Workplace Exposure Limits breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. f Transfer promptly to a medical facility. No occupational exposure limits have been established for f Medical observation is recommended for 24 to 48 hours after Sodium Bromate. However, it may pose a health risk. overexposure, as pulmonary edema may be delayed. Always follow safe work practices. 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 BROMATE 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 Bromate and can last for Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product months or years: ingredients and important safety and health information about the product mixture. Cancer Hazard f According to the information presently available to the New f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New Jersey Department of Health, Sodium Bromate has not Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. Sheet, available on the RTK website (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK Reproductive Hazard Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. f While Sodium Bromate has been tested, further testing is required to assess its potential to cause reproductive harm. 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 Repeated exposure to high levels may affect the inner ear if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the leading to ringing in the ears and hearing loss. federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you f Sodium Bromate can irritate the lungs. Repeated exposure are a private worker. may cause bronchitis to develop with coughing, phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most f Sodium Bromate may damage the kidneys. employers to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public employers to provide their employees with information concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 Medical CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication Medical Testing Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the following are recommended: similar information and training to their employees. f Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information f Blood methemoglobin level regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. f Kidney function tests Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other f Hearing test factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential effects described below. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling Health Hazard Information exposure. Acute Health Effects The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right immediately or shortly after exposure to Sodium Bromate: to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. f Sodium Bromate can irritate the nose and throat causing Mixed Exposures coughing and wheezing. f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, f Inhaling Sodium Bromate can irritate the lungs causing emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. your risk of developing health problems. f Exposure to Sodium Bromate can cause vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and restlessness. f High levels of this substance can reduce the blood’s ability to transport Oxygen, causing headache, fatigue, dizziness, and a blue color to the skin and lips (methemoglobinemia). Exposure to very high levels can cause trouble breathing, collapse and even death. SODIUM BROMATE Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices Eye Protection Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or f Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less f If additional protection is needed for the entire face, use in toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures combination with a face shield. A face shield should not be include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely used without another type of eye protection. irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single Respiratory Protection exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on should only be used if the employer has implemented a written workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control program that takes into account workplace conditions, Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and The following work practices are also recommended: medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). f Label process containers. f Provide employees with hazard information and training. f At any detectable concentration, use a NIOSH approved f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. negative pressure, air-purifying, particulate filter respirator f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed with an N, R or P95 filter. More protection is provided by a recommended exposure levels. full facepiece respirator than by a half-mask respirator, and f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. even greater protection is provided by a powered-air f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous purifying respirator. material. f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or f Always wash at the end of the workshift. cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes Sodium Bromate, (2) while wearing particulate filters contaminated. abnormal resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye f Do not take contaminated clothing home. irritation occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. f Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are If it is, replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer being handled, processed or stored. good, you may need a new respirator. f Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, f Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. applying cosmetics or using the toilet. You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as In addition, the following may be useful or required: vapor and mist) or against a mixture of chemicals. f Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a NIOSH f Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during clean- approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode. For increased protection use in combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode.