Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: STRONTIUM NITRATE Synonyms: Strontium Dinitrate CAS Number: 10042-76-9 Chemical Name: Nitric Acid, Strontium Salt RTK Substance Number: 1743 Date: March 2000 Revision: August 2009 DOT Number: UN 1507 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE LAST PAGE Strontium Nitrate is an odorless, colorless or white, crystalline Hazard Summary (sand-like) powder. It is used in signal lights, railroad flares Hazard Rating NJDOH NFPA and pyrotechnics, and as a pigment. HEALTH 2 - FLAMMABILITY 0 - REACTIVITY 0 - OXIDIZER POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE CONTAINERS MAY EXPLODE IN FIRE Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; Reasons for Citation 4=severe f Strontium Nitrate is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance List because it is cited by DOT. f Strontium Nitrate can affect you when inhaled. f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. f Inhaling Strontium Nitrate can irritate the nose, throat and lungs. f Repeated exposure may damage the lungs, heart, liver and kidneys, and affect the nervous system f Exposure to very high levels of Strontium Nitrate can cause it to accumulate in the bones and may affect their function. SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. f Strontium Nitrate is not combustible, but it is a STRONG OXIDIZER that enhances the combustion of other substances. FIRST AID Eye Contact f 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. No occupational exposure limits have been established for Strontium Nitrate. However, it may pose a health risk. Skin Contact Always follow safe work practices. f Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash contaminated skin with large amounts of water. Inhalation f Remove the person from exposure. f Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. f Transfer promptly to a medical facility. EMERGENCY NUMBERS Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222 CHEMTREC: 1-800-424-9300 NJDEP Hotline: 1-877-927-6337 National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 STRONTIUM NITRATE Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Other Effects f Repeated exposure may damage the lungs, heart, liver and f Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data kidneys, and affect the nervous system. Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product f Exposure to very high levels of Strontium Nitrate can cause ingredients and important safety and health information it to accumulate in the bones and may affect their function. about the product mixture. f For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact Medical Sheet, available on the RTK website Medical Testing (www.nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb) or in your facility’s RTK If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the Central File or Hazard Communication Standard file. following are recommended: f You have a right to this information under the New Jersey f Lung function tests Worker and Community Right to Know Act, the Public f Exam of the nervous system Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act f Liver and kidney function tests if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the f EKG federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you f Bone Density (DEXA) Scan are a private worker. Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and f The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for employers to label chemicals in the workplace and damage already done are not a substitute for controlling requires public employers to provide their employees with exposure. information concerning chemical hazards and controls. Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee CFR 1910.1200) and the PEOSH Hazard Communication Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) require employers to provide similar information and training to their employees. Mixed Exposures f Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential your risk of developing health problems. effects described below. f More than light alcohol consumption can cause liver damage. Drinking alcohol can increase the liver damage caused by Strontium Nitrate. Health Hazard Information Mixed Exposures Acute Health Effects f Persons with inadequate amounts of Calcium in their diets The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur may be at an increased risk of developing bone immediately or shortly after exposure to Strontium Nitrate: abnormalities from Strontium Nitrate exposure. f Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. f Inhaling Strontium Nitrate can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Strontium Nitrate and can last for months or years: Cancer Hazard f According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health, Strontium Nitrate has not been tested for its ability to cause cancer in animals. Reproductive Hazard f According to the information presently available to the New Jersey Department of Health, Strontium Nitrate has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. STRONTIUM NITRATE Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices Eye Protection Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or f Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures Respiratory Protection include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust should only be used if the employer has implemented a written ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single program that takes into account workplace conditions, exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). The following work practices are also recommended: f At any detectable concentration, use a NIOSH approved negative pressure, air-purifying, particulate filter respirator f Label process containers. with a P95 filter. More protection is provided by a full f Provide employees with hazard information and training. facepiece respirator than by a half-mask respirator, and even f Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. greater protection is provided by a powered-air purifying f Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed respirator. recommended exposure levels. f Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or f Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect f Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous Strontium Nitrate, (2) while wearing particulate filters material. abnormal resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye f Always wash at the end of the workshift. irritation occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. f Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes Check to make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. contaminated. If it is, replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer f Do not take contaminated clothing home. good, you may need a new respirator. f Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. f Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. f Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges being handled, processed or stored. to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as f Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, vapor and mist) or against a mixture of chemicals. applying cosmetics or using the toilet. f Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a NIOSH approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece In addition, the following may be useful or required: operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode. For increased protection use in combination with an f Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during clean- auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus or an up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. emergency escape air cylinder. Personal Protective Equipment Fire Hazards If employees are expected to fight fires, they must be trained The OSHA Personal Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR and equipped as stated in the OSHA Fire Brigades Standard 1910.132) requires employers to determine the appropriate (29 CFR 1910.156). personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train employees on how and when to use protective equipment. f Strontium Nitrate is not combustible, but it is a STRONG OXIDIZER that enhances the combustion of other substances. The following recommendations are only guidelines and may f Use water only. DO NOT USE CHEMICAL, FOAM or CO2 not apply to every situation. as extinguishing agents. f POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE, including Gloves and Clothing Nitrogen Oxides. f Avoid skin contact with Strontium Nitrate. Wear personal f CONTAINERS MAY EXPLODE IN FIRE. protective equipment made from material which can not be f Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers cool.