Common Name: AMMONIUM BICARBONATE CAS Number: 1066-33-7 RTK Substance number: 0088 DOT Number: NA 9081 Date: February 1987 Revision: March 2001 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Ammonium Bicarbonate can affect you when breathed No occupational exposure limits have been established for in. Ammonium Bicarbonate. This does not mean that this * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. substance is not harmful. Safe work practices should always * Breathing Ammonium Bicarbonate can irritate the nose, be followed. throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust IDENTIFICATION ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust Ammonium Bicarbonate is a white powder or crystalline ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be (sand-like) material with an Ammonia odor. It is used in worn. baking powders and fire extinguishers, and to make dyes and * Wear protective work clothing. pigments. * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Ammonium Bicarbonate. REASON FOR CITATION * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In * Ammonium Bicarbonate is on the Hazardous Substance addition, as part of an ongoing education and training List because it is cited by DOT and EPA. effort, communicate all information on the health and * Definitions are provided on page 5. safety hazards of Ammonium Bicarbonate to potentially exposed workers. 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. AMMONIUM BICARBONATE 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 cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical any of the potential effects described below. exposure. 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 The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous immediately or shortly after exposure to Ammonium substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most Bicarbonate: effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at * Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also * Breathing Ammonium Bicarbonate can irritate the nose, reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is shortness of breath. sometimes necessary. Chronic Health Effects In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the some time after exposure to Ammonium Bicarbonate and substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether can last for months or years: harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when Cancer Hazard significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. * According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, In addition, the following control is recommended: Ammonium Bicarbonate has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. * Where possible, automatically transfer Ammonium Bicarbonate from drums or other storage containers to Reproductive Hazard process containers. * According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Ammonium Bicarbonate has not been tested for its exposures. The following work practices are recommended: ability to affect reproduction. * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Other Long-Term Effects Ammonium Bicarbonate should change into clean * Ammonium Bicarbonate can irritate the lungs. Repeated clothing promptly. exposure may cause bronchitis to develop with cough, * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. members could be exposed. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by MEDICAL individuals who have been informed of the hazards of exposure to Ammonium Bicarbonate. Medical Testing * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the work area for emergency use. following are recommended: * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency shower facilities should be provided. * Lung function tests. * On skin contact with Ammonium Bicarbonate, immediately wash or shower to remove the chemical. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Ammonium present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for Bicarbonate is handled, processed, or stored, since the damage already done are not a substitute for controlling chemical can be swallowed. Wash hands carefully before exposure. eating, drinking, smoking, or using the toilet. * Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal clean-up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. right to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. AMMONIUM BICARBONATE page 3 of 6 PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT * Be sure to consider all potential exposures in your workplace. You may need a combination of filters, WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN prefilters or cartridges to protect against different forms of PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for a chemical (such as vapor and mist) or against a mixture of some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs chemicals. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace * Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a controls are being installed), personal protective equipment MSHA/NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full may be appropriate. facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- pressure mode. For increased protection use in OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and apparatus 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 * Avoid skin contact with Ammonium Bicarbonate. Wear from repeated exposures to a chemical. protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ manufacturers can provide recommendations on Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- the most protective glove/clothing material for your term effects? operation. A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to should be clean, available each day, and put on before make you immediately sick. work. Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been Eye Protection exposed to chemicals? * Wear impact resistant eye protection with side shields or A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is goggles. increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with determined by the length of time and the amount of corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. material to which someone is exposed. Respiratory Protection Q: When are higher exposures more likely? A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include dust IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. releasing operations (grinding, mixing, blasting, Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a dumping, etc.), other physical and mechanical processes written program that takes into account workplace conditions, (heating, pouring, spraying, spills and evaporation from requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and large surface