Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: CADMIUM SULFIDE Synonyms: Cadmium Monosulfide; Cadmium Yellow; Orange CAS Number: 1306-23-6 Cadmium RTK Substance Number: 3081 Chemical Name: Cadmium Sulfide DOT Number: UN 2570 Date: March 2008 Revision: February 2017 EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE BACK PAGE Description and Use Hazard Summary Cadmium Sulfide is an odorless, lemon yellow to orange Hazard Rating NJDHSS NFPA crystal or yellow to brown powder. It is used in HEALTH 4 - photoconductors, dandruff shampoos, pigments, electronic FLAMMABILITY 1 - components, and solar cells. REACTIVITY 0 - CARCINOGEN POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; 4=severe Reasons for Citation Cadmium Sulfide can affect you when inhaled. Cadmium Sulfide is on the Right to Know Hazardous Cadmium Sulfide is a CARCINOGEN. HANDLE WITH Substance List because it is cited by OSHA, ACGIH, DOT, EXTREME CAUTION. NIOSH, NTP, DEP, IARC and EPA. Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance Inhaling Cadmium Sulfide can irritate the nose and throat. List. Exposure to Cadmium Sulfide may cause a flu-like illness called metal fume fever. Cadmium Sulfide can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Inhaling Cadmium Sulfide 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. Repeated low exposures can cause liver and kidney damage, anemia, and loss of sense of smell. FIRST AID Eye Contact Immediately flush with large amounts of water for at least 15 minutes, lifting upper and lower lids. Remove contact Workplace Exposure Limits lenses, if worn, while rinsing. The following exposure limits are for Cadmium: Skin Contact Remove contaminated clothing and wash contaminated skin OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit (PEL) is with soap and water. 0.005 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. Inhalation NIOSH: Recommends that exposure to occupational Remove the person from exposure. Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if carcinogens be limited to the lowest feasible breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. concentration. Transfer promptly to a medical facility. Medical observation is recommended for several days after ACGIH: The threshold limit value (TLV) is 0.01 mg/m3 (as total exposure or if symptoms are present, as some symptoms 3 may be delayed. particulate), and 0.002 mg/m (as the respirable fraction), averaged over an 8-hour workshift. EMERGENCY NUMBERS Cadmium Sulfide is a CARCINOGEN in humans. There Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so all CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level. NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 CADMIUM SULFIDE Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Cancer Hazard Cadmium Sulfide is a CARCINOGEN in humans. There is Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data evidence that Cadmium and Cadmium compounds cause Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product lung and prostate cancer in humans and cause lung cancer ingredients and important safety and health information in animals. about the product mixture. Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen. For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact Reproductive Hazard Sheet, available on the RTK Program website While Cadmium Sulfide has not been identified as a (http://nj.gov/health/workplacehealthandsafety/right-to- teratogen or a reproductive hazard, Cadmium and Cadmium know/) or in your facility’s RTK Central File or Hazard compounds are teratogens and may also cause reproductive Communication Standard file. damage to the male reproductive system (including decrease of the sperm count). Cadmium Sulfide should be You have a right to this information under the New Jersey handled WITH EXTREME CAUTION. Worker and Community Right to Know Act, the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act Other Effects if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the Cadmium Sulfide can irritate the lungs. Repeated federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you exposure may cause bronchitis to develop with coughing, are a private worker. phlegm, and/or shortness of breath. Repeated low exposures can cause liver and kidney The New Jersey Right to Know Act and the PEOSH damage. Hazard Communication Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) Exposure can cause anemia, loss of sense of smell requires most employers to label chemicals in the (anosmia), and/or discoloration of teeth. workplace and requires public employers to provide their employees with information concerning chemical hazards and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Medical Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires private employers Medical Testing to provide similar information and training to their Before first exposure and every 12 months thereafter, OSHA employees. requires your employer to provide (for persons exposed to greater than or equal to 0.0025 mg/m3 of Cadmium) a work This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information and medical history and exam which shall include: regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other Blood test for Cadmium (levels should be less than factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential 5 micrograms per liter of whole blood) effects described below. Urine test for Cadmium (levels should be less than 3 micrograms per liter of urine) Urine test for Beta-2 microglobulin to detect kidney damage Health Hazard Information Liver and kidney function tests Lung function tests Acute Health Effects Complete blood count The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Cadmium Sulfide: If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the following is recommended: Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. Inhaling Cadmium Sulfide can irritate the nose and throat. Consider chest x-ray after acute overexposure Exposure to Cadmium Sulfide may cause “metal fume fever.” This is a flu-like illness with symptoms of metallic OSHA requires your employer to provide you and your doctor taste in the mouth, headache, fever and chills, aches, chest with a copy of the OSHA Cadmium Standard (29 CFR tightness and cough. The symptoms may be delayed for 1910.1027 or 1926.1127). several hours after exposure and usually last for a day or two. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and Cadmium Sulfide can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for and abdominal pain. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling Inhaling Cadmium Sulfide can irritate the lungs causing exposure. coughing and/or shortness of breath. Higher exposures may cause a build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), a Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right medical emergency, with severe shortness of breath. to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Cadmium Sulfide and can last for months or years: CADMIUM SULFIDE Page 3 of 6 Mixed Exposures Personal Protective Equipment Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen The OSHA Personal Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if 1910.132) requires employers to determine the appropriate you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train your risk of developing health problems. employees on how and when to use protective equipment. More than light alcohol consumption can cause liver damage. Drinking alcohol can increase the liver damage The following recommendations are only guidelines and may caused by Cadmium Sulfide. Cigarette smoke contains some Cadmium. Because it is not apply to every situation. hard for the body to eliminate Cadmium, it tends to build up in the body. Any workplace exposure adds to these levels. Gloves and Clothing Avoid skin contact with Cadmium Sulfide. Wear personal protective equipment made from material which can not be Workplace Controls and Practices permeated or degraded by this substance. Safety Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or equipment suppliers and manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most protective glove and clothing sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less material for your operation. toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures Safety equipment manufacturers recommend Nitrile and include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely Neoprene for gloves and DuPont Tyvek®, or the equivalent, irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust as a protective material for clothing. ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on should be clean, available each day,