Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

HYDRAZINE ACETATE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Intermediate.

SYNONYMS

CH3CO2NH3NH2

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Causes burns.
Risk of serious damage to eyes.
Harmful to aquatic organisms.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  The material can produce chemical burns within the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract following ingestion.  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  Hydrazine (and some of its derivatives), is a strong convulsant in laboratory animals and can cause central nervous system (CNS) depression or stimulation. Symptoms of CNS depression may include nonspecific discomfort, giddiness, headache, dizziness, nausea, anaesthetic effects, slowed reaction time, slurred speech and may progress to unconsciousness. Serious poisonings may result in respiratory depression and may be fatal. CNS stimulation may produce dyspnea, coughing, bronchospasm, and laryngospasm. Muscular involvement may produce symptoms ranging from fasciculation to spasticity or seizures. Headache, dizziness and confusion may also result as can hyperpyrexia or a sensation of warmth. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and difficulty in urination. Cardiovascular involvement may produce alterations in blood pressure or arrhythmia.Pulmonary oedema and cardiovascular collapse also seem to be a feature of acute hydrazine poisonings. Animals that survive for more than a day frequently develop liver necrosis and renal failure. As judged by a few severe poisonings,  man reacts like monkey in the sense that liver injury is more severe than kidney failure. Severe hypoglycaemia may develop even earlier than liver necrosis although this is rarely mentioned in the literature.  

EYE

  The material can produce chemical burns to the eye following direct contact. Vapors or mists may be extremely irritating.  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  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 can produce chemical burns following direct contactwith the skin.  Solution of material in moisture on the skin, or perspiration, may markedly increase skin corrosion and accelerate tissue destruction.  Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material.  The material may accentuate any pre-existing skin condition.  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.  

INHALED

  Inhalation may produce health damage*.  If inhaled, this material can irritate the throat andlungs of some persons.  Persons with impaired respiratory function, airway diseases and conditions such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, may incur further disability if excessive concentrations of particulate are inhaled.  Symptoms of inhalation of hydrazine (and some of its derivatives), may include nausea and headache. Central nervous system (CNS) excitability may lead to convulsions and, in severe cases, respiratory arrest and death. Several instances of systemic poisoning, by hydrazine, have been reported in humans. These mainly involve the CNS, respiratory system and stomach. CNS stimulation may produce twitching of the extremities, clonic movements, hyperreflexia, convulsions and pyrexia; these may progress to lethargy, ataxia, confusion,  coma and hypotension.Oliguria, haematuria, hyperglycaemia and/ or hypoglycaemia and elevated LFTs are common. Leucocytosis, parasthaesia and peripheral neuropathies may be delayed for several days.Respiratory (and dermal) exposure may produce deficits in concentration, comprehension, memory, task performance and mood status.Irritation of the mucous membranes may produce rhinitis, salivation, coughing, choking and dyspnoea.  The material may produce respiratory tract irritation, and result in damage to the lung including reduced lung function.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Principal routes of exposure are usually by skin contact/absorption and inhalation of generated dust.  Hydrazine derivatives tend to be local irritants and cause convulsions, liver damage, and destruction of red blood cells. They also damage the kidneys, and cause stimulation of the central nervous system with tremors and convulsions, progressing to depression, respiratory collapse and death.  When administered orally, hydrazine induced pulmonary adenomas and adenocarcinomas in mice. Inhalation induced lung carcinomas and lymphosarcomas of the spleen in female mice. A study of 423 men, involved in the manufacture of hydrazine revealed three stomach, one prostate and a neurogenic cancer.