Common Name: ARSENIC PENTOXIDE CAS Number: 1303-28-2 RTK Substance number: 0158 DOT Number: UN 1559 Date: January 1996 Revision: April 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY * Arsenic Pentoxide can affect you when breathed in and * Exposure to hazardous substances should be routinely by passing through your skin. evaluated. This may include collecting personal and area * Arsenic Pentoxide is a CARCINOGEN--HANDLE air samples. You can obtain copies of sampling results WITH EXTREME CAUTION. from your employer. You have a legal right to this * Skin contact can cause irritation, burning, itching, rash, information under OSHA 1910.1020. * If you think you are experiencing any work-related health thickened skin and pigment changes. problems, see a doctor trained to recognize occupational * Eye contact can cause irritation and red and watery eyes. diseases. Take this Fact Sheet with you. * Breathing Arsenic Pentoxide can irritate the nose and throat and cause a hole in the inner nose. * Arsenic Pentoxide can cause headache, poor appetite, WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. The following exposure limits are for inorganic Arsenic * High or repeated exposure can cause nerve damage, with compounds (measured as Arsenic): “pins and needles,” numbness and later weakness of the OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit arms and legs. (PEL) is 0.01 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour * Arsenic Pentoxide may affect the liver. workshift. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is IDENTIFICATION 0.002 mg/m3, which should not be exceeded at Arsenic Pentoxide is a white, odorless, lumpy solid or any time. powder. It is used as a solid or solution in the manufacture of ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is insecticides, fungicides and wood preservatives, and in dyeing 0.01 mg/m3 averaged over an 8-hour workshift. and printing. * Arsenic Pentoxide is a CARCINOGEN in humans. There REASON FOR CITATION may be no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen, so all * Arsenic Pentoxide is on the Hazardous Substance List contact should be reduced to the lowest possible level. because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When DOT, NIOSH, NTP, DEP, IARC, HHAG, NFPA and skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even EPA. though air levels are less than the limits listed above. * This chemical is on the Special Health Hazard Substance List because it is a CARCINOGEN. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Definitions are provided on page 5. * Enclose operations and use local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust ventilation or HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. EXPOSED * A regulated, marked area should be established where The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers Arsenic Pentoxide is handled, used, or stored as required to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public by the OSHA Standard: 1910.1018. employers to provide their employees with information and * Wear protective work clothing. training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Arsenic federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, Pentoxide and at the end of the workshift. requires private employers to provide similar training and * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In information to their employees. addition, as part of an ongoing education and training effort, communicate all information on the health and safety hazards of Arsenic Pentoxide to potentially exposed workers. ARSENIC PENTOXIDE page 2 of 6 This Fact Sheet is a summary source of information of all * Test for urine Arsenic. This is most accurate at the end of a potential and most severe health hazards that may result from workday. Eating shellfish or fish may elevate Arsenic exposure. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance levels for up to two days. At NIOSH recommended and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the exposure levels, urine Arsenic should not be greater than potential effects described below. 100 micrograms per liter of urine. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After suspected overexposure, repeat these tests. Also examine HEALTH HAZARD INFORMATION you skin periodically for abnormal growths. Skin cancer from Arsenic is easily cured when detected early. 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 Arsenic Pentoxide: present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling * Skin contact can cause irritation, burning, itching and a exposure. rash. * Eye contact can cause irritation and red and watery eyes. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right * Breathing Arsenic Pentoxide can irritate the nose and to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. throat. * Arsenic Pentoxide can cause headache, poor appetite, Mixed Exposures nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps. * Because more than light alcohol consumption can cause liver damage, drinking alcohol may increase the liver Chronic Health Effects damage caused by Arsenic Pentoxide. The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Arsenic Pentoxide and can last for Conditions Made Worse By Exposure months or years: * Many scientists believe that skin changes such as thickening and pigment changes make those skin areas Cancer Hazard more likely to develop skin cancer. * Arsenic Pentoxide is a CARCINOGEN in humans. It has been shown to cause skin cancer. WORKPLACE CONTROLS AND PRACTICES * Many scientists believe there is no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen. Such substances may also have the potential Unless a less toxic chemical can be substituted for a hazardous for causing reproductive damage in humans. substance, ENGINEERING CONTROLS are the most effective way of reducing exposure. The best protection is to Reproductive Hazard enclose operations and/or provide local exhaust ventilation at * Arsenic Pentoxide may damage the testes (male the site of chemical release. Isolating operations can also reproductive glands). reduce exposure. Using respirators or protective equipment is less effective than the controls mentioned above, but is Other Long-Term Effects sometimes necessary. * Long term exposure can cause an ulcer or hole in the “bone” dividing the inner nose. Hoarseness and sore eyes In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: also occur. (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * High or repeated exposure can cause nerve damage with substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether “pins and needles”, numbness and later weakness of the harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls arms and legs. should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * Repeated skin contact can cause thickened skin and/or significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. patchy areas of darkening and loss of pigment. Some persons develop white lines on the nails. In addition, the following controls are recommended: * Arsenic Pentoxide may affect the liver. * Where possible, automatically transfer Arsenic Pentoxide MEDICAL from drums or other storage containers to process containers. * Specific engineering controls are required for this chemical Medical Testing by OSHA. Refer to the OSHA Standard: 1910.1018. Before beginning employment and at regular times after that, * A Class I, Type B, biological safety hood should be used the following are recommended: when mixing, handling, or preparing Arsenic Pentoxide. * Exam of the nose, skin, eyes, nails, and nervous system. * Liver function tests. ARSENIC PENTOXIDE page 3 of 6 Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Respiratory Protection exposures. The following work practices are recommended: IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by Arsenic written program that takes into account workplace conditions, Pentoxide should change into clean clothing promptly. requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. members could be exposed. * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by * Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.002 mg/m3 individuals who have been informed of the hazards of (as Arsenic), use a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator exposure to Arsenic Pentoxide. with a full facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate positive-pressure mode. For increased protection use in work area for emergency use. combination with an auxiliary self-contained breathing * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency apparatus operated in a pressure-demand or other positive- shower facilities should be provided. pressure mode. * On skin contact with Arsenic Pentoxide, immediately wash * Exposure to 5 mg/m3 (as Arsenic) is immediately or shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the dangerous to life and health. If the possibility