Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

PALM OIL

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Soap manufacture; in cosmetics, liniments and ointment. Dye

SYNONYMS

"palm oil from seed", "palm butter"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

None

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Contact with combustible material may cause fire.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  

EYE

  Although the liquid is not thought to be an irritant, direct contact with the eye may produce transient discomfort characterized by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn).  

SKIN

  Skin contact is not thought to have harmful health effects, however the material may still produce health damage following entry through wounds, lesions or abrasions.  There is some evidence to suggest that the material may cause moderate inflammation of the skin either following direct contact or after a delay of some time. Repeated exposure can cause contact dermatitis which is characterized by redness, swelling and blistering.  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.  Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures.  Not normally a hazard due to non-volatile nature of product.  Inhalation of oil droplets/ aerosols may cause discomfort and may produce chemical pneumonitis.  Fine mists generated from plant/ vegetable (or more rarely from animal) oils may be hazardous. Extreme heating for prolonged periods, at high temperatures, may generate breakdown products which include acrolein and acrolein-like substances.  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.  Usually handled as molten liquid which requires worker thermal protection and increases hazard of vapor exposure.CAUTION: Vapors may be irritating.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Prolonged overdose of Vitamin A is associated with fatigue, irritability, loss of weight and appetite, mild fever, increased amounts of urine, enlarged liver and spleen, hair loss, bleeding lips, thickening of skin and yellow pigmentation. Bone and joint pain may occur, and growth may be permanently arrested in children. There may be birth defects and loss of bone mineral associated with carotenoids.  Glyceryl triesters (triglycerides), following ingestion, are metabolised to monoglycerides, free fatty acids and glycerol, all of which are absorbed in the intestinal mucosa and undergo further metabolism. Little or no acute, subchronic or chronic oral toxicity was seen in animal studies unless levels approached a significant percentage of calorific intake. Subcutaneous injections of tricaprylin in rats over a five-week period caused granulomatous reaction characterised by oil deposits surrounded by macrophages. Diets containing substantial levels of tributyrin produced gastric lesions in rats fed for 3-35 weeks; the irritative effect of the substance was thought to be the cause of tissue damage.  Dermal application was not associated with significant irritation in rabbit skin; ocular exposures were, at most, mildly irritating to rabbit eyes. No evidence of sensitisation or photosensitisation was seen in a guinea pig maximisation test. Most of the genotoxicity test systems were negative. Tricaprylin, trioctanoin and triolein have been used, historically, as vehicles in carcinogenicity testing of other chemicals. In one study, subcutaneous injection of tricaprylin, in newborn mice, produced more tumours in lymphoid tissue than were seen in untreated animals whereas, in another study, subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection in 4- to 6-week old female mice produced no tumours. Trioctanoin injected subcutaneously in hamster produced no tumours; when injected intraperitoneally in pregnant rats there was an increase in mammary tumours among the off-spring but similar studies in pregnant hamsters and rabbits showed no tumours in the off-spring.  The National Toxicological Program conducted a 2-year study in rats given tricaprylin by gavage. The treatment was associated with a statistically significant dose-related increase in pancreatic acinar cell hyperplasia and adenoma but there were no acinar carcinomas.  Tricaprylin is not teratogenic to mice or rats but some reproductive effects were seen in rabbits. A low level of foetal eye abnormalities and a small percentage of abnormal sperm were reported in mice injected with trioctanoin.