Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

URUSHIOL

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Antiallergic in hyposensitisation therapy. Extremely active allergen producing skin
reactions similar to poison ivy. Urushiol is the oleoresin component that causes contact
dermatitis and has been fractionated into five constituent catechols with unsaturated C15
or C17 side chains which upon hydrogenation yield the same 3- pentadecylcatechol or 3-
heptadecylcatechol. The more unsaturated or longer the side- chain, the greater the
antigenic activity. Urushiol is the major constituent of the irritant oil of poison ivy
(Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze), poison oak (T. diversilobum), the Asiatic lacquer
tree (T. verniciferum D.C.) and other plants of the genus Toxidendron, Anacardiacea.
Related substances, cardol and anacardic acids, are found in cashew nuts (produced by
Anacardium occidentale) and cross- sensitivity occurs between these substances and
Toxicodendron spp. The fruit of the marking nut tree contains a urushiol which hardens
into a black substance used by the laundrymen (dhobis) of India to mark clothes. The mango
fruit (Mangifera Indica) contains urushiols which are restricted to the stem and skin but
are not found in the pulp.

SYNONYMS

"poison ivy, poison oak, marking tree, mango stem and skin constituent", catechol

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Explosive when dry.
May form explosive peroxides.
May cause SENSITIZATION by skin contact.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  Some phenol derivatives can cause damage to the digestive system. If absorbed, profuse sweating, thirst, nausea, vomiting diarrhea, cyanosis, restlessness, stupor, low blood pressure, gasping, abdominal pain, anemia, convulsions, coma and lung swelling can happen followed by pneumonia. There may be respiratory failure and kidney damage. Chemical burns,  seizures and irregular heartbeat may result.  

EYE

  There is some evidence to suggest that this material can causeeye irritation and damage in some persons.  Some phenol derivatives may produce mild to severe eye irritation with redness, pain and blurred vision. Permanent eye injury may occur; recovery may also be complete or partial.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption.  There is some evidence to suggest that this material can cause inflammation of the skin on contact in some persons.  Phenol and its derivatives can cause severe skin irritation if contact is maintained, and can be absorbed to the skin affecting the cardiovascular and central nervous system. Effects include sweating, intense thirst, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, cyanosis, restlessness, stupor, low blood pressure, hyperventilation, abdominal pain, anemia, convulsions, coma, lung swelling followed by pneumonia. Respiratory failure and kidney damage may follow.  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

  Inhalation may produce health damage*.  Inhalation of aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be damaging to the health of the individual.  There is some evidence to suggest that the material can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage.  Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures.  If phenols are absorbed via the lungs, systemic effects may occur affecting the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Inhalation can result in profuse perspiration, intense thirst, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cyanosis, restlessness, stupor, falling blood pressure, hyperventilation, abdominal pain, anemia, convulsions, coma, swelling and inflammation of the lung. This is followed by respiratory failure and kidney damage. Phenols also cause loss of sensation and general depression at high concentrations. The toxicities of phenol derivatives vary.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Skin contact with the material is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Long-term exposure to phenol derivatives can cause skin inflammation, loss of appetite and weight, weakness, muscle aches and pain, liver damage, dark urine, loss of nails, skin eruptions, diarrhea, nervous disorders with headache, salivation, fainting, discoloration of the skin and eyes, vertigo and mental disorders, and damage to the liver and kidneys.  Some phenol-based naturally occurring substances, (e.g. phenol, guaiacol, tannic acid, eugenol) undergo conversion to produce derivatives which produce skin (and possibly respiratory) sensitisation. Each of these compounds has phenolic hydroxyl groups which are readily oxidized to produce reactive quinone-like compounds. Phenol is converted in the body to quinone whilst guaiacol (ortho-methoxyphenol) and eugenol (2-allylguaiacol) are converted to the ortho-quinone. Both eugenol and isoeugenol (4-propenylguaiacol) are pro-haptens that require biotransformation to become protein-reactive haptens. Although they are close structural isomers they show markedly different levels of sensitisation and are weakly cross-reactive in in vivo tests. Isoeugenol is a strong sensitiser and eugenol is moderate. It appears that neither share a common mechanism for sensitisation although structural similarities exist. This relates to different mechanisms of biotransformation.  Cinnamaldehyde and cinnamic acid are structurally related to eugenol and isoeugenol; they seen to generate a common hapten and appear to produce simultaneous sensitisation to eugenol and isoeugenol despite being metabolised via different pathways. Buckley et al British Jnl of Dermatology 2006 Vol 154 pp 885-884  The phenolics and related substances permeate the dermis where they undergo bio-  distribution. Phenolic permeation is related to liphophilicity and molecular volume. Phenols are metabolised by cutaneous enzymes or other processes to form reactive metabolites or may be chemically modified through the reaction of UV light. The skin has a wide-ranging metabolic capability which can perform essentially all the metabolic transformation which are know to be carried out in the liver. Metabolic by- products may be haptens and produce sensitisation. Eugenol although a weak sensitiser, in its own right, is oxidised to the highly reactive ortho-quinone. The sensitising principal in poison ivy, a catechol know as urishiol, appears to undergo similar oxidation to produce a reactive hapten. These reactive haptens bind to dermal proteins (haptens are often electrophilic and bind covalently with -NH2 and -SH groups on proteins, modifying the protein which when exposed to the immune system, will react with antigen-presenting cells in the dermis.  Axillary dermatitis is common and over represented in people with contact allergy to fragrances. Many people suspect their deodorants to be the incriminating products. In order to investigate the significance of isoeugenol in deodorants for the development of axillary dermatitis when used by people with and without contact allergy to isoeugenol, patch tests with deodorants and ethanol solutions with isoeugenol), as well as repeated open application tests (ROAT) with roll-on deodorants with and without isoeugenol at various concentrations, were performed in 35 dermatitis patients, 10 without and 25 with contact allergy to isoeugenol. A positive ROAT was observed only in patients hypersensitive to isoeugenol and only in the axilla to which the deodorants containing isoeugenol had been applied. Deodorants containing isoeugenol in the concentration range of 0.0063-0.2% used 2 times daily on healthy skin can thus elicit axillary dermatitis within a few weeks in people with contact allergy to isoeugenol. Bruze et al ; Contact Dermatitis Vol 52, May 2005 pp 7.