Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

WATERWAY-160(AMINE)

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Water treatment chemical.

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Causes burns.
Risk of serious damage to eyes.
HARMFUL - May cause lung damage if swallowed.
Harmful by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed.
Highly flammable.

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.  The material can produce chemical burns within the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract following ingestion.  There is some evidence to suggest that this material can cause, if swallowed once, irreversible damage of organs.  Ingestion of alkaline corrosives may produce burns around the mouth, ulcerations and swellings of the mucous membranes, profuse saliva production, with an inability to speak or swallow. Both the esophagus and stomach may experience burning pain; vomiting and diarrhea may follow. Epiglottal swelling may result in respiratory distress and asphyxia; shock can occur. Narrowing of the esophagus, stomach or stomach valve may occur immediately or after a long delay (weeks to years). Severe exposure can perforate the esophagus or stomach leading to infections of the chest or abdominal cavity, with low chest pain, abdominal stiffness and fever. All of the above can cause death.  Amines without benzene rings when swallowed are absorbed throughout the gut. Corrosive action may cause damage throughout the gastrointestinal tract. They are removed through the liver, kidney and intestinal mucosa by enzyme breakdown.  

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.  Direct eye contact with corrosive bases can cause pain and burns. There may be swelling, epithelium destruction, clouding of the cornea and inflammation of the iris. Mild cases often resolve; severe cases can be prolonged with complications such as persistent swelling, scarring, permanent cloudiness, bulging of the eye, cataracts, eyelids glued to the eyeball and blindness.  The material may produce severe irritation to the eye causing pronounced inflammation. Repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants may produce conjunctivitis.  Vapors of volatile amines irritate the eyes, causing excessive secretion of tears, inflammation of the conjunctiva and slight swelling of the cornea, resulting in "halos" around lights. This effect is temporary, lasting only for a few hours. However this condition can reduce the efficiency of undertaking skilled tasks, such as driving a car. Direct eye contact with liquid volatile amines may produce eye damage, permanent for the lighter species.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may be harmful; systemic effects may resultfollowing absorption.  The material can produce chemical burns following direct contactwith the skin.  There is some evidence to suggest that this material, on a single contact with skin, can cause irreversible damage of organs.  The material can produce severe chemical burns following direct contactwith the skin.  Skin contact with alkaline corrosives may produce severe pain and burns; brownish stains may develop. The corroded area may be soft, gelatinous and necrotic; tissue destruction may be deep.  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.  Exposure limits with "skin" notation indicate that vapor and liquid may be absorbed through intact skin. Absorption by skin may readily exceed vapor inhalation exposure. Symptoms for skin absorption are the same as for inhalation. Contact with eyes and mucous membranes may also contribute to overall exposure and may also invalidate the exposure standard.  Toxic effects may result from skin absorption.  

INHALED

  If inhaled, this material can irritate the throat andlungs of some persons.  Inhalation of vapors or aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be harmful.  Inhaling corrosive bases may irritate the respiratory tract. Symptoms include cough, choking, pain and damage to the mucous membrane. In severe cases, lung swelling may develop, sometimes after a delay of hours to days. There may be low blood pressure, a weak and rapid pulse, and crackling sounds.  Inhalation of quantities of liquid mist may be extremely hazardous, even lethal due to spasm, extreme irritation of larynx and bronchi, chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary edema.  Inhalation of amine vapors may cause irritation of the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, and lung irritation with respiratory distress and cough. Swelling and inflammation of the respiratory tract is seen in serious cases; with headache, nausea, faintness and anxiety There may also be wheezing.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Repeated or prolonged exposure to corrosives may result in the erosion of teeth, inflammatory and ulcerative changes in the mouth and necrosis (rarely) of the jaw. Bronchial irritation, with cough, and frequent attacks of bronchial pneumonia may ensue. Gastrointestinal disturbances may also occur. Chronic exposures may result in dermatitis and/or conjunctivitis.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Asthma-like symptoms may continue for months or even years after exposure to the material ceases. This may be due to a non-allergenic condition known as reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) which can occur following exposure to high levels of highly irritating compound. Key criteria for the diagnosis of RADS include the absence of preceding respiratory disease, in a non-atopic individual, with abrupt onset of persistent asthma-like symptoms within minutes to hours of a documented exposure to the irritant. A reversible airflow pattern, on spirometry, with the presence of moderate to severe bronchial hyperreactivity on methacholine challenge testing and the lack of minimal lymphocytic inflammation, without eosinophilia, have also been included in the criteria for diagnosis of RADS. RADS (or asthma) following an irritating inhalation is an infrequent disorder with rates related to the concentration of and duration of exposure to the irritating substance. Industrial bronchitis, on the other hand, is a disorder that occurs as result of exposure due to high concentrations of irritating substance (often particulate in nature) and is completely reversible after exposure ceases. The disorder is characterised by dyspnea, cough and mucus production.  There has been some concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations but there is not enough data to make an assessment.  There is some evidence to provide a presumption that human exposure to the material may result in impaired fertility on the basis of: some evidence in animal studies of impaired fertility in the absence of toxic effects, or evidence of impaired fertility occurring at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects but which is not a secondary non-  specific consequence of other toxic effects.  The material may accumulate in the human body and progressively causetissue damage.  Secondary amines may react with nitrites to form potentially carcinogenicN-nitrosamines.  Long term exposure to morpholine and some of its congeners may produce liver and kidney damage. Obvious evidence of chronic nasal irritation and inflammation and ocular injury (including retinal degeneration, corneal irritation, uveitis and corneal damage) has been documented in rats exposed to 150 ppm, 6 hours/day, 5 days/week for 104 weeks. Earlier reports linking exposure to morpholine with an increased incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma and pulmonary angiosarcoma, probably resulted from exposure to the carcinogenic contaminant, N-nitrosomorpholine. It must be noted, however, that there is a potential to convert morpholine, a secondary amine), in the body, to the potentially carcinogenic N-  nitros-morpholine. N-nitroso-compounds represent a major class of important chemical carcinogens and mutagens. The induction of tumours by single doses of these substances testify to their potency. Whilst it is difficult to extrapolate animal carcinogenicity data to humans, such data strongly suggests that these compounds are human carcinogens. As a rule the N-nitrosamines as a group are carcinogenic in a multitude of organs and tissues. This is also true for the individual N-nitrosamines where the tumour localisation does not depend only on the kind of nitrosamine but also the species and dose. Mostly, however, a preferred target organ (or even several) can be identified. This is frequently the liver.