Nitrogen Dioxide

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

Emergency Overview DANGER! Toxic, oxidizing, corrosive gas and liquid under pressure. May be fatal if inhaled. May cause lung damage. May increase respiration and heart rate. Can cause eye and skin burns. Symptoms may be delayed. Vigorously accelerates combustion. Self-contained breathing apparatus and protective clothing must be worn by rescue workers.

Principle Routes of Exposure

Inhalation. Swallowing. Skin absorption. Skin contact. Eye contact. EFFECTS OF A SINGLE (ACUTE) OVEREXPOSURE: INHALATION: Overexposure may cause irritation of mucous membranes, sinuses, pharynx, and bronchia, with pain, headache, cyanosis, irregular respiration, choking, dizziness, and possibly pulmonary edema. Often no pulmonary symptoms at time of exposure; may have latency of 5-72 hours. High vapour concentrations may cause pain, choking, bronchoconstriction, reflex slowing of the heart, and possibly asphyxiation. Lack of oxygen can kil. STEL: 5 ppm (ACGIH). SKIN CONTACT: Severe irritant; may cause burns. SKIN Prolonged or widespread skin contact with the liquid may result in the absorption of harmful ABSORPTION: amounts of material. SWALLOWING: Harmful if swallowed. An unlikely route of exposure. This product is a gas at normal temperature and pressure. May cause burns to mouth, throat and stomach. EYE CONTACT: May cause severe conjunctivitis seen as marked redness and swelling of the conjunctiva, and corneal injury with opacification. EFFECTS OF REPEATED (CHRONIC) OVEREXPOSURE: Repeated inhalation may result in bronchitis or emphysema. Repeated skin contact may result in cumulative dermatitis. OTHER EFFECTS OF OVEREXPOSURE: None known.

Medical Conditions Generally Aggravated by Exposure

OVEREXPOSURE Inhalation may aggravate asthma and inflammatory or fibrotic pulmonary disease. Because of its irritating properties, this material may aggravate an existing dermatitis. SIGNIFICANT LABORATORY DATA WITH POSSIBLE RELEVANCE TO HUMAN HEALTH HAZARD EVALUATION: Nitrogen dioxide has been shown to cause mutations in bacteria, and to cause mutation, sister-chromatid exchanges, and chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells. CARCINOGENICITY: Not listed as carcinogen by OSHA, NTP or IARC.