Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

KOPPERS OCB (OIL CREOSOTE BLEND) PRESERVATIVE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Timber preservative to protect against fungal decay and insect attack.

SYNONYMS

"creosote and fuel oil timber preservative"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

May cause CANCER.
Harmful in contact with skin and if swallowed.
Irritating to eyes and skin.
Toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long- term adverse effects in the aquatic
environment.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be harmful; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 150 gram may be fatal or may produce serious damage to the health of the individual.  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  

EYE

  This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons.  The material may produce severe irritation to the eye causing pronounced inflammation. Repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants may produce conjunctivitis.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may be harmful; systemic effects may resultfollowing absorption.  This material can cause inflammation of the skin oncontact in some persons.  Toxic effects may result from skin absorption.  The material may accentuate any pre-existing dermatitis condition.  Reactions may occur following a single acute exposure or may only appearafter repeated exposures.  The material may cause severe skin irritation after prolonged or repeated exposure and may produce on contact skin redness, swelling, the production of vesicles, scaling and thickening of the skin. Repeated exposures may produce severe ulceration.  

INHALED

  The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting.  Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  There is ample evidence that this material can be regarded as being able to cause cancer in humans based on experiments and other information.  

  Principal routes of exposure are by accidental skin and eye contact and by inhalation of vapors especially at higher temperatures.  This material is a photosensitizer. Certain individuals working with this substance may show allergic reaction of the skin under sunlight. This results in sensitivity to sunburn (may be severe) unless protective covering and 15+PF sunscreen are used. Responses may vary from sunburn-like effects to swelling and blistering lesions.  Patients receiving tar ointments for various skin complaints have developed skin cancer in a number of case reports. There is evidence that these ointments can cause mutations. Patent-fuel workers and workers exposed to coal tars or coal-tar pitches have developed cancer of the skin and scrotum. Studies have shown that workers exposed to coal tar fumes in coal gasification and coke production have a higher rate of developing lung cancer. A study in US roofers indicated an increased risk for cancer of the lung and suggested increased risks for cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, skin and bladder and for leukemia. One study showed a small increase in bladder cancer rates in coal tar distillers and patent-fuel workers.  Coal tar derived grades of creosote contain coal tar pitch volatiles and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are known to cause cancer. They are the chief ingredients of tar-derived creosote.  Thermal and creosote dip-treatment workers in wood-treatment plants may have consistent potential inhalation exposures to creosote and these PAHs. Although PAHs are normally not absorbed through uninjured skin, it might be absorbed with other chemicals or through broken skin.  The product contains clarified slurry oils which may cause tumours  or cancer of the skin following prolonged or repeated contact.  Occupational exposure to clarified slurry oils may result in adverse  effects on the liver, kidney, adrenal glands, thymus and bone marrow.  The product contains catalytically cracked distillates.  High boiling, catalytically cracked distillates produce a high incidence of benign and malignant skin tumors when applied to the skin of mice, rabbits and monkeys. Tumor incidence appears to increase with boiling point; further fraction of the distillate shows this activity to be maximal in the fraction having boiling points of 500-520 C and is concentrated in the aromatic fraction.