Common Name: CYANOGEN IODIDE CAS Number: 506-78-5 RTK Substance number: 2303 DOT Number: None Date: January 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- HAZARD SUMMARY WORKPLACE EXPOSURE LIMITS * Cyanogen Iodide can affect you when breathed in and by The following exposure limits are for Iodine: passing through your skin. * Contact can irritate and burn the skin and eyes with OSHA: The legal airborne permissible exposure limit possible eye damage. (PEL) is 0.1 ppm, not to be exceeded at any time. * Breathing Cyanogen Iodide can irritate the nose and throat. NIOSH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is * High exposure can cause headache, confusion, dizziness, 0.1 ppm, which should not be exceeded at any fast heartbeat, unconsciousness and death. time. * Cyanogen Iodide may affect the nervous system. ACGIH: The recommended airborne exposure limit is IDENTIFICATION 0.1 ppm, which should not be exceeded at any time. Cyanogen Iodide is a white, needle-shaped solid with a strong odor. It is used in preserving insects and butterflies. * It should be recognized that Cyanogen Iodide can be REASON FOR CITATION absorbed through your skin, thereby increasing your exposure. * Cyanogen Iodide is on the Hazardous Substance List because it is regulated by OSHA and cited by ACGIH, NIOSH, DEP and EPA. WAYS OF REDUCING EXPOSURE * Definitions are provided on page 5. * Where possible, enclose operations and use local exhaust ventilation at the site of chemical release. If local exhaust HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU ARE BEING ventilation or enclosure is not used, respirators should be worn. EXPOSED * Wear protective work clothing. The New Jersey Right to Know Act requires most employers * Wash thoroughly immediately after exposure to Cyanogen to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public Iodide and at the end of the workshift. employers to provide their employees with information and * Post hazard and warning information in the work area. In training concerning chemical hazards and controls. The addition, as part of an ongoing education and training federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1200, effort, communicate all information on the health and requires private employers to provide similar training and safety hazards of Cyanogen Iodide to potentially exposed information to their employees. workers. * 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. CYANOGEN IODIDE 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 Cyanogen Iodide: 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 with possible substance is released into the workplace and (3) whether eye damage. harmful skin or eye contact could occur. Special controls * Breathing Cyanogen Iodide can irritate the nose and throat. should be in place for highly toxic chemicals or when * High exposure can cause headache, confusion, dizziness, significant skin, eye, or breathing exposures are possible. fast heartbeat, unconsciousness and death. In addition, the following control is recommended: Chronic Health Effects * Where possible, automatically transfer Cyanogen Iodide The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Cyanogen Iodide and can last for from drums or other storage containers to process months or years: containers. Cancer 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, Cyanogen Iodide has not been tested for its ability to cause * Workers whose clothing has been contaminated by cancer in animals. Cyanogen Iodide should change into clean clothing promptly. Reproductive Hazard * Do not take contaminated work clothes home. Family * According to the information presently available to the New members could be exposed. Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, * Contaminated work clothes should be laundered by individuals who have been informed of the hazards of Cyanogen Iodide has not been tested for its ability to affect reproduction. exposure to Cyanogen Iodide. * Eye wash fountains should be provided in the immediate Other Long-Term Effects work area for emergency use. * If there is the possibility of skin exposure, emergency * Cyanogen Iodide may affect the nervous system. shower facilities should be provided. * On skin contact with Cyanogen Iodide, immediately wash MEDICAL or shower to remove the chemical. At the end of the workshift, wash any areas of the body that may have Medical Testing contacted Cyanogen Iodide, whether or not known skin If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the contact has occurred. following are recommended: * Do not eat, smoke, or drink where Cyanogen Iodide is handled, processed, or stored, since the chemical can be * Urine thiocyanate levels. swallowed. Wash hands carefully before eating, drinking, * Exam of the nervous system. smoking, or using the toilet. * Use a vacuum or a wet method to reduce dust during clean- Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for damage already done are not a substitute for controlling PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT exposure. WORKPLACE CONTROLS ARE BETTER THAN Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. However, for to this information under OSHA 1910.1020. some jobs (such as outside work, confined space entry, jobs done only once in a while, or jobs done while workplace controls are being installed), personal protective equipment may be appropriate. CYANOGEN IODIDE page 3 of 6 OSHA 1910.132 requires employers to determine the * Store under refrigeration in tightly closed containers in a appropriate personal protective equipment for each hazard and cool, well-ventilated area away from LIGHT. to train employees on how and when to use protective equipment. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS The following recommendations are only guidelines and may Q: If I have acute health effects, will I later get chronic not apply to every situation. health effects? A: Not always. Most chronic (long-term) effects result from Clothing repeated exposures to a chemical. * Avoid skin contact with Cyanogen Iodide. Wear protective gloves and clothing. Safety equipment suppliers/ Q: Can I get long-term effects without ever having short- manufacturers can provide recommendations on the most term effects? protective glove/clothing material for your operation. A: Yes, because long-term effects can occur from repeated * All protective clothing (suits, gloves, footwear, headgear) exposures to a chemical at levels not high enough to make should be clean, available each day, and put on before you immediately sick. work. Q: What are my chances of getting sick when I have been Eye Protection exposed to chemicals? * Wear impact resistant eye protection with side shields or A: The likelihood of becoming sick from chemicals is goggles. increased as the amount of exposure increases. This is * Wear a face shield along with goggles when working with determined by the length of time and the amount of corrosive, highly irritating or toxic substances. material to which someone is exposed. * Contact lenses should not be worn when working with this substance. Q: When are higher exposures more likely? A: Conditions which increase risk of exposure include dust Respiratory Protection releasing operations (grinding, mixing, blasting, dumping, IMPROPER USE OF RESPIRATORS IS DANGEROUS. etc.), other physical and mechanical processes (heating, Such equipment should only be used if the employer has a pouring, spraying, spills and evaporation from large written program that takes into account workplace conditions, surface areas such as open containers), and "confined requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing and medical exams, as described in OSHA 1910.134. space" exposures (working inside vats, reactors, boilers, small rooms, etc.). * Where the potential exists for exposure over 0.1 ppm