Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

KMC OILTOOLS CALCIUM BROMIDE (LIQUID)

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Used according to manufacturer' s directions.

SYNONYMS

"calcium dibromide", CaBr2

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  Bromide poisoning causes intense vomiting so the dose is often removed. Effects include drowsiness, irritability, inco-ordination, vertigo, confusion, mania, hallucinations and coma. Other effects include skin rash, nervous system symptoms, sensory disturbances and increased spinal fluid pressure. They have been used as sedatives and depress the central nervous system. Toxicity is increased if dietary chloride is reduced. Repeated ingestion can cause a syndrome with acne, confusion, irritability, tremor, memory loss, weight loss,  headache, slurred speech, delusions, stupor, psychosis and coma.  

EYE

  The material may be irritating to the eye, with prolonged contact causing inflammation. Repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants may produce conjunctivitis.  

SKIN

  The material may cause 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.  Entry into the blood-stream, through, for example, cuts, abrasions or lesions, may produce systemic injury with harmful effects. Examine the skin prior to the use of the material and ensure that any external damage is suitably protected.  

INHALED

  The material is not thought to produce either adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract following inhalation (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, adverse effects have been produced following exposure of animals by at least one other route and good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Chronic intoxication with ionic bromides, historically, has resulted from medical use of bromides but not from environmental or occupational exposure; depression, hallucinosis, and schizophreniform psychosis can be seen in the absence of other signs of intoxication. Bromides may also induce sedation, irritability, agitation, delirium, memory loss, confusion, disorientation, forgetfulness (aphasias), dysarthria, weakness, fatigue, vertigo, stupor, coma, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, hallucinations,  an acne like rash on the face, legs and trunk, known as bronchoderma (seen in 25-30% of case involving bromide ion), and a profuse discharge from the nostrils (coryza). Ataxia and generalised hyperreflexia have also been observed. Correlation of neurologic symptoms with blood levels of bromide is inexact. The use of substances such as brompheniramine, as antihistamines, largely reflect current day usage of bromides; ionic bromides have been largely withdrawn from therapeutic use due to their toxicity. Several cases of foetal abnormalities have been described in mothers who took large doses of bromides during pregnancy.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  There is some evidence that human exposure to the material may result in developmental toxicity. This evidence is based on animal studies where effects have been observed in the absence of marked maternal toxicity, or at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects but which are not secondary non-specific consequences of the other toxic effects.