Common Name: CYCLOHEXANOL CAS Number: 108-93-0 RTK Substance number: 0569 DOT Number: UN 1987 Date: January 1997 Revision: April 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Cyclohexanol can affect you when breathed in and by OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit passing through your skin. (PEL) is 50 ppm averaged over an 8-hour * Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes. workshift. * Breathing Cyclohexanol can irritate the nose and throat. * High exposure can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is dizziness and passing out. 50 ppm averaged over a 10-hour workshift. * Cyclohexanol may affect the liver and kidneys. ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is IDENTIFICATION 50 ppm averaged over an 8-hour workshift. Cyclohexanol is a colorless thick liquid or sticky solid with a faint mothball odor. It is used in the manufacture of nylon, * The above exposure limits are for air levels only. When lacquers, paints and varnishes and as a solvent in cleaning and skin contact also occurs, you may be overexposed, even degreasing operations. though air levels are less than the limits listed above. REASON FOR CITATION WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Cyclohexanol is on the Hazardous Substance List because * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, DOT, ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust NIOSH, DEP, NFPA and EPA. ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be * Definitions are provided on page 5. worn. * Wear protective work clothing. HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to EXPOSED Cyclohexanol and at the end of the workshift. * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers addition, as part of an ongoing education and training to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public effort, communicate all information on the health and employers to provide their employees with information and training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The safety hazards of Cyclohexanol to potentially exposed federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, workers. 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. CYCLOHEXANOL 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 Cyclohexanol: In evaluating the controls present in your workplace, consider: (1) how hazardous the substance is, (2) how much of the * Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes. substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether * Breathing Cyclohexanol can irritate the nose and throat. harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls * High exposure can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when dizziness and passing out. significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. Chronic Health Effects In addition, the following control is recommended: The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at * Where possible, automatically transfer Cyclohexanol or some time after exposure to Cyclohexanol and can last for months or years: pump liquid Cyclohexanol from drums or other storage containers to process containers. Cancer Hazard * According to the information presently available to the New Good WORK PRACTICES can help to reduce hazardous Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, exposures. The following work practices are recommended: Cyclohexanol has not been tested for its ability to cause * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by cancer in animals. Cyclohexanol should change into clean clothing promptly. Reproductive Hazard * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family members could be exposed. * There is limited evidence that Cyclohexanol may damage * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by the developing fetus. individuals who have been informed of the hazards of exposure to Cyclohexanol. Other Long-Term Effects * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate * Cyclohexanol may affect the liver and kidneys. work area for emergency use. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency MEDICAL shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Cyclohexanol, immediately wash or Medical Testing shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have following are recommended: contacted Cyclohexanol, whether or not known skin contact has occurred. * Liver and kidney function tests. * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Cyclohexanol is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for smoking, or using the toilet. damage already done are not a substitute for controlling exposure. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs Mixed Exposures done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace * Because more than light alcohol consumption can cause controls are being installed), personal protective equipment liver damage, drinking alcohol may increase the liver may be appropriate. damage caused by Cyclohexanol. CYCLOHEXANOL page 3 of 6 OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the * Exposure to 400 ppm is immediately dangerous to life and appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and health. If the possibility of exposure above 400 ppm exists, to train employees on how and when to use protective use a MSHA/NIOSH approved self-contained breathing equipment. apparatus with a full facepiece operated in a pressure- demand or other positive-pressure mode. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may not apply to every situation. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Clothing Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic * Avoid skin contact with Cyclohexanol. Wear solvent- health effects? resistant gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most repeated exposures to a chemical. protective glove/clothing material for your operation. * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- should be clean, available each day, and put on before term effects? work. A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated * ACGIH recommends Neoprene, Nitrile, Polyvinyl Alcohol, exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to make Polyvinyl Chloride, or Viton as protective materials. you immediately sick. Eye Protection Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been * Wear indirect-vent, impact and splash resistant goggles exposed to chemicals? when working with liquids. A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. determined by the length of time and the amount of material to which someone is exposed. Respiratory Protection IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include written program that takes into account workplace conditions, physical and mechanical processes (heating, pouring, requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and spraying, spills and evaporation from large surface areas medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. such as open containers), and "confined space" exposures * Where the potential