Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet Common Name: HEXAMINE Synonyms: Hexamethylenetetramine; Methenamine CAS Number: 100-97-0 Chemical Name: 1,3,5,7-Tetraazatricyclo[3.3.1.13,7]Decane RTK Substance Number: 0996 Date: February 2009 Revision: June 2016 DOT Number: UN 1328 Description and Use EMERGENCY RESPONDERS >>>> SEE LAST PAGE Hexamine is a colorless to white, odorless, crystalline (sand- Hazard Summary like) powder. It is used in adhesives, coatings, and sealing Hazard Rating NJDHSS NFPA compounds, and as a medication. HEALTH 2 - FLAMMABILITY 1 - REACTIVITY 0 - COMBUSTIBLE POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE Reasons for Citation Hazard Rating Key: 0=minimal; 1=slight; 2=moderate; 3=serious; Hexamine is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance 4=severe List because it is cited by DOT. Hexamine can affect you when inhaled. Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. Inhaling Hexamine can irritate the nose, throat and lungs. Hexamine can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Hexamine may cause a skin allergy and an asthma-like allergy. SEE GLOSSARY ON PAGE 5. Finely dispersed Hexamine particulate or powdered dust is an explosion hazard. 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. No occupational exposure limits have been established for Skin Contact Hexamine. However, it may pose a health risk. Always follow Quickly remove contaminated clothing. Immediately wash safe work practices. contaminated skin with large amounts of water. Inhalation Remove the person from exposure. Begin rescue breathing (using universal precautions) if breathing has stopped and CPR if heart action has stopped. 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 HEXAMINE Page 2 of 6 Determining Your Exposure Other Effects Hexamine may cause a skin allergy. If allergy develops, Read the product manufacturer’s Material Safety Data very low future exposure can cause itching and a skin rash. Sheet (MSDS) and the label to determine product Hexamine may cause an asthma-like allergy. Future ingredients and important safety and health information exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of about the product mixture. breath, wheezing, coughing, and/or chest tightness. For each individual hazardous ingredient, read the New Jersey Department of Health Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet, available on the RTK Program website Medical (http://nj.gov/health/workplacehealthandsafety/right-to- Medical Testing know/) or in your facility’s RTK Central File or Hazard If symptoms develop or overexposure is suspected, the Communication Standard file. following are recommended: You have a right to this information under the New Jersey Evaluation by a qualified allergist can help diagnose skin Worker and Community Right to Know Act, the Public allergy. Employees Occupational Safety and Health (PEOSH) Act Lung function tests. The results may be normal if the person if you are a public worker in New Jersey, and under the is not having an attack at the time of the test. federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if you Any evaluation should include a careful history of past and are a private worker. present symptoms with an exam. Medical tests that look for The New Jersey Right to Know Act and the PEOSH damage already done are not a substitute for controlling Hazard Communication Standard (N.J.A.C. 12:100-7) exposure. requires most employers to label chemicals in the workplace and requires public employers to provide their Request copies of your medical testing. You have a legal right to this information under the OSHA Access to Employee employees with information concerning chemical hazards Exposure and Medical Records Standard (29 CFR 1910.1020). and controls. The federal OSHA Hazard Communication Standard (29 CFR 1910.1200) requires private employers Mixed Exposures to provide similar information and training to their Smoking can cause heart disease, lung cancer, employees. emphysema, and other respiratory problems. It may worsen respiratory conditions caused by chemical exposure. Even if This Fact Sheet is a summary of available information you have smoked for a long time, stopping now will reduce regarding the health hazards that may result from exposure. your risk of developing health problems. Duration of exposure, concentration of the substance and other factors will affect your susceptibility to any of the potential effects described below. Health Hazard Information Acute Health Effects The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur immediately or shortly after exposure to Hexamine: Contact can irritate the skin and eyes. Inhaling Hexamine can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. Hexamine can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Chronic Health Effects The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at some time after exposure to Hexamine and can last for months or years: Cancer Hazard There is no evidence that Hexamine causes cancer in animals. This is based on test results presently available to the NJDHSS from published studies. Reproductive Hazard Hexamine may damage the developing fetus. HEXAMINE Page 3 of 6 Workplace Controls and Practices Eye Protection Very toxic chemicals, or those that are reproductive hazards or Wear eye protection with side shields or goggles. sensitizers, require expert advice on control measures if a less If additional protection is needed for the entire face, use in toxic chemical cannot be substituted. Control measures combination with a face shield. A face shield should not be include: (1) enclosing chemical processes for severely used without another type of eye protection. irritating and corrosive chemicals, (2) using local exhaust ventilation for chemicals that may be harmful with a single Respiratory Protection exposure, and (3) using general ventilation to control Improper use of respirators is dangerous. Respirators exposures to skin and eye irritants. For further information on should only be used if the employer has implemented a written workplace controls, consult the NIOSH document on Control program that takes into account workplace conditions, Banding at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/. requirements for worker training, respirator fit testing, and The following work practices are also recommended: medical exams, as described in the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134). Label process containers. Provide employees with hazard information and training. At any detectable concentration, use a NIOSH approved Monitor airborne chemical concentrations. respirator with an organic vapor/acid gas cartridge and Use engineering controls if concentrations exceed particulate prefilters. Increased protection is obtained from recommended exposure levels. full facepiece powered-air purifying respirators. Provide eye wash fountains and emergency showers. Leave the area immediately if (1) while wearing a filter or Wash or shower if skin comes in contact with a hazardous cartridge respirator you can smell, taste, or otherwise detect material. Hexamine, (2) while wearing particulate filters abnormal Always wash at the end of the workshift. resistance to breathing is experienced, or (3) eye irritation Change into clean clothing if clothing becomes occurs while wearing a full facepiece respirator. Check to contaminated. make sure the respirator-to-face seal is still good. If it is, Do not take contaminated clothing home. replace the filter or cartridge. If the seal is no longer good, Get special training to wash contaminated clothing. you may need a new respirator. Do not eat, smoke, or drink in areas where chemicals are Consider all potential sources of exposure in your workplace. being handled, processed or stored. You may need a combination of filters, prefilters or cartridges Wash hands carefully before eating, smoking, drinking, to protect against different forms of a chemical (such as applying cosmetics or using the toilet. vapor and mist) or against a mixture of chemicals. Where the potential for high exposure exists, use a NIOSH In addition, the following may be useful or required: approved supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure Before entering a confined space where Hexamine may be mode. For increased protection use in combination with an present, check to make sure that an explosive concentration auxiliary self-contained breathing apparatus operated in a does not exist. pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode. Use a wet method to reduce dust during clean-up. DO NOT DRY SWEEP. Fire Hazards If employees are expected to fight fires, they must be trained Personal Protective Equipment and equipped as stated in the OSHA Fire Brigades Standard (29 CFR 1910.156). The OSHA Personal Protective Equipment Standard (29 CFR 1910.132) requires employers to determine the appropriate Hexamine is a COMBUSTIBLE SOLID. personal protective equipment for each hazard and to train Finely dispersed Hexamine particulate or powdered dust is employees on how and when to use protective equipment. an explosion hazard. Use dry chemical, water spray, sand, earth or foam as extinguishing agents. The following recommendations