St. Marys Portland Cement - Ver. 1

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

Emergency Overview Grey - white. Odourless. CORROSIVE. Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.

Principle Routes of Exposure

Eye contact; skin contact; inhalation; ingestion. Inhalation Portland cement products may contain trace amounts of free crystalline silica. Prolonged exposure to respirable free crystalline silica may aggravate lung conditions. It also may cause delayed lung injury including silicosis, a disabling and potentially fatal lung disease, and/or other diseases. Skin Contact Discomfort or pain cannot be relied upon to alert a person to a hazardous skin exposure. Consequently, the only effective means of avoiding skin injury or illness involves minimizing skin contact, particularly contact with wet cement. Exposed persons may not feel discomfort until hours after the exposure, and significant injury has occurred. Exposure to dry cement products may cause drying of the skin with consequent mild irritation or more significant effects attributable to aggravation of other conditions. Skin contact with wet or dry cement products may cause more severe skin effects including thickening, cracking or fissuring of the skin. Prolonged skin contact can cause severe chemical burns. Some ultra-sensitive individuals may exhibit an allergic response upon exposure to cement products, possibly due to trace amounts of chromium (hexavalent chromium salts). The response may appear in a variety of forms ranging from mild rash to severe skin ulcers. Persons already sensitized might react to their first contact with the product; others might experience this effect only after years of contact with cement products. Eye Contact Eye contact by larger amounts of dry powder or splashes of wet Portland cement products may cause effects ranging from moderate eye irritation to chemical burns and blindness, requiring immediate first aid (see Section 4) and medical attention. Ingestion Although small quantities of dust are not known to be harmful, ill effects are possible if larger quantities are accidentally consumed. Carcinogenicity (Silica, total quartz) CARCINOGEN.