Common Name: ANTIMONY PENTAFLUORIDE CAS Number: 7783-70-2 RTK Substance number: 0144 DOT Number: UN 1732 Date: February 1998 Revision: June 2004 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Antimony Pentafluoride can affect you when breathed in * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely and may be absorbed through the skin. evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area * Antimony Pentafluoride is a CORROSIVE CHEMICAL air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results and contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes from your employer. You have a legal right to this with possible eye damage. information under OSHA 1910.1020. * Exposure to Antimony Pentafluoride can irritate the * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health nose, mouth, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational and/or shortness of breath. diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. * Antimony Pentafluoride can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Very high exposure can cause Fluoride poisoning with The following exposure limits are recommended for Antimony stomach pain, weakness, convulsions, collapse and death. and compounds (measured as Antimony): * Prolonged or repeated exposure can cause ulcers and sores OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit in the nose. (PEL) is 0.5 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour * Repeated exposure may affect the lungs and cause an workshift. abnormal chest x-ray to develop. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is * Antimony Pentafluoride may damage the kidneys, liver 0.5 mg/m3 averaged over a 10-hour workshift. and heart. ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is * Repeated high exposure can cause deposits of Fluorides in 0.5 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. the bones and teeth, a condition called “Fluorosis.” The following exposure limits are recommended for Fluorides * The above health effects do NOT occur at the level of (measured as Fluorine): Fluoride used in water for preventing cavities in teeth. OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit 3 (PEL) is 2.5 mg/m averaged over an 8-hour IDENTIFICATION workshift. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Antimony Pentafluoride is an oily, colorless liquid. It is 3 used as a catalyst in chemical reactions and as a source of 2.5 mg/m averaged over a 10-hour workshift. ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is Fluorine in fluorination reactions. 3 2.5 mg/m averaged over an 8-hour workshift. * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When REASON FOR CITATION skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even * Antimony Pentafluoride is on the Hazardous Substance though air levels are less than the limits listed above. List because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, DOT, NIOSH, DEP, NFPA and EPA. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust List because it is CORROSIVE. ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust * Definitions are provided on page 5. ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING * Wear protective work clothing. EXPOSED * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Antimony The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers Pentafluoride and at the end of the workshift. to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In employers to provide their employees with information and addition, as part of an ongoing education and training training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The effort, communicate all information on the health and federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, safety hazards of Antimony Pentafluoride to potentially requires private employers to provide similar training and exposed workers. information to their employees. ANTIMONY PENTAFLUORIDE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all * Urine test for Antimony. potential and most severe health hazards that may result from exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the following are recommended: potential effects described below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Fluoride level in urine. Levels higher than 4 mg/liter - indicate overexposure. * Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure. HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION * EKG. * Liver and kidney function tests. Acute Health Effects The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and immediately or shortly after exposure to Antimony present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for Pentafluoride: damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. * Contact can severely irritate and burn the skin and eyes with possible eye damage. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right * Exposure to Antimony Pentafluoride can irritate the nose, to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. mouth, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. Mixed Exposures * Antimony Pentafluoride can cause headaches, nausea, * Because smoking can cause heart disease, as well as lung vomiting and loss of appetite. cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems, it may * Very high exposure can cause Fluoride poisoning with worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. stomach pain, weakness, convulsions, collapse and death. Even if you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce your risk of developing health problems. Chronic Health Effects * Because more than light alcohol consumption can cause The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at liver damage, drinking alcohol can increase the liver some time after exposure to Antimony Pentafluoride and can damage caused by Antimony Pentafluoride. last for months or years: WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES Cancer Hazard * According to the information presently available to the New Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most Antimony Pentafluoride has not been tested for its ability effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to to cause cancer in animals. enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also Reproductive Hazard reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is * According to the information presently available to the New less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, sometimes necessary. Antimony Pentafluoride has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the Other Long-Term Effects substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether * Prolonged or repeated exposure can cause ulcers and sores harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls in the nose. should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * Repeated exposure may affect the lungs and cause an significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. abnormal chest x-ray to develop. * Antimony Pentafluoride may damage the kidneys, liver In addition, the following control is recommended: and heart. * Repeated high exposure can cause deposits of Fluorides in * Where possible, automatically pump liquid Antimony the bones and teeth, a condition called “Fluorosis.” This Pentafluoride from drums or other storage containers to can cause pain, disability and mottling of the teeth. process containers. MEDICAL Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Medical Testing * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by For those with frequent or potentially high exposure (half the Antimony Pentafluoride should change into clean clothing PEL or greater), the following is recommended before promptly. beginning work and at regular times after that: ANTIMONY PENTAFLUORIDE page 3 of 6 * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family * Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.5 mg/m3 (as members could be exposed. Antimony), use a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by with a full facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other individuals who have been informed of the hazards of positive-pressure mode. For increased protection use in exposure to Antimony Pentafluoride. combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate apparatus operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- work area for emergency use. pressure mode. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency * Exposure to 50 mg/m3 (as Antimony) is immediately shower facilities should be provided. dangerous to life and health. If the possibility of exposure * On skin contact with Antimony Pentafluoride, above 50 mg/m3 (as Antimony) exists,