Common Name: BUTYLENE CAS Number: 25167-67-3 RTK Substance number: 0286 DOT Number: UN 1012 Date: June 1996 Revision: July 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Butylene can affect you when breathed in. No occupational exposure limits have been established for * Exposure to Butylene can cause you to become dizzy, Butylene. This does not mean that this substance is not lightheaded, and to pass out. harmful. Safe work practices should always be followed. * Very high levels of Butylene can cause suffocation from lack of Oxygen and can cause death. * Large amounts of Butylene will decrease the amount of * Butylene is a HIGHLY FLAMMABLE GAS and a available Oxygen. Oxygen content should be routinely DANGEROUS FIRE HAZARD. tested to ensure that it is at least 19% by volume. IDENTIFICATION WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE Butylene is a colorless gas. It is used in gasoline and to make * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust other chemicals. ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be REASON FOR CITATION worn. * Butylene is on the Hazardous Substance List because it is * Wear protective work clothing. cited by DOT and NFPA. * Wash thoroughly at the end of the workshift. * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance * On skin contact with Butylene, immediately submerse the List because it is FLAMMABLE. affected body part in warm water. * Definitions are provided on page 5. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING effort, communicate all information on the health and safety hazards of Butylene to potentially exposed workers. 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. BUTYLENE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES potential and most severe health hazards that may result from exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most potential effects described below. effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to --------------------------------------------------------------------------- enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Acute Health Effects sometimes necessary. The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Butylene: In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * Exposure to Butylene can cause you to become dizzy, substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether lightheaded, and to pass out. harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls * Very high levels of Butylene can cause suffocation from should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when lack of Oxygen and can cause death. significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Chronic Health Effects In addition, the following controls are recommended: The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at * Before entering a confined space where Butylene is some time after exposure to Butylene and can last for months or years: present, check to make sure sufficient Oxygen (19%) exists. * Before entering a confined space where Butylene may be Cancer Hazard present, check to make sure that an explosive concentration * According to the information presently available to the New does not exist. * Specific engineering controls are required for this chemical Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Butylene by OSHA. Refer to the OSHA Standard: 29 CFR 1910.101 has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. for compressed gases. Reproductive Hazard Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous * According to the information presently available to the New exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Butylene has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by Other Long-Term Effects individuals who have been informed of the hazards of exposure to Butylene. * No chronic (long-term) health effects are known at this * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate time. work area for emergency use. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency MEDICAL shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Butylene, immediately wash or Medical Testing shower to remove the chemical. There is no special test for this chemical. However, if illness * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Butylene is handled, occurs or overexposure is suspected, medical attention is processed, or stored, since the chemical can be swallowed. recommended. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, applying cosmetics, smoking, or using the toilet. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace controls are being installed), personal protective equipment may be appropriate. OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train employees on how and when to use protective equipment. BUTYLENE page 3 of 6 The following recommendations are only guidelines and may QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS not apply to every situation. Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic Clothing health effects? * Avoid skin contact with Butylene. Wear protective gloves A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/manufacturers can repeated exposures to a chemical. provide recommendations on the most protective glove/clothing material for your operation. Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- * Where exposure to cold equipment, vapors, or liquid may term effects? occur, employees should be provided with special clothing A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated designed to prevent the freezing of body tissues. exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to make * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) you immediately sick. should be clean, available each day, and put on before work. Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been exposed to chemicals? Eye Protection A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is * Wear non-vented, impact resistant goggles when working increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is with fumes, gases, or vapors. determined by the length of time and the amount of * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with material to which someone is exposed. corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? Respiratory Protection A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. physical and mechanical processes (heating, pouring, Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a spraying, spills and evaporation from large surface areas written program that takes into account workplace conditions, such as open containers), and "confined space" exposures requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and (working inside vats, reactors, boilers, small rooms, etc.). medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. Q: Is the risk of getting sick higher for workers than for * Exposure to Butylene is dangerous because it can replace community residents? Oxygen and lead to suffocation. Only NIOSH approved A: Yes. Exposures in the community, except possibly in self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece cases of fires or spills, are usually much lower than those operated in the positive pressure mode should be used in found in the workplace. However, people in the Oxygen deficient environments. community may be exposed to contaminated