Benzo[a]pyrene

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CHEMWATCH HAZARD RATINGS Min Max Flammability: 1 Toxicity: 2 Body Contact: 2 Min/Nil=0 Low=1 Reactivity: 1 1 of 13 CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK May cause CANCER. May cause SENSITIZATION by skin contact. May cause heritable genetic damage. May impair fertility. May cause harm to the unborn child. Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment.

Potential Acute Health Effects

SWALLOWED Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual. EYE Although the material is not thought to be an irritant, direct contact with the eye may cause transient discomfort characterized by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn). Slight abrasive damage may also result. The material may produce foreign body irritation in certain individuals. SKIN The material is not thought to be a skin irritant (as classified using animal models). Abrasive damage however, may result from prolonged exposures. Good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable gloves be used in an occupational setting. Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption. Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material. 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 respiratory irritation (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless inhalation of dusts, or fume, especially for prolonged periods, may produce respiratory discomfort and occasionally, distress. Inhalation of dusts, generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be damaging to the health of the individual. Persons with impaired respiratory function, airway diseases and conditions such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, may incur further disability if excessive concentrations of particulate are inhaled.

Potential chronic health

Skin contact with the material is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population. There is ample evidence that this material can be regarded as being able to cause cancer in humans based on experiments and other information. Based on experiments and other information, there is ample evidence to presume that exposure to this material can cause genetic defects that can be inherited. Ample evidence exists from experimentation that reduced human fertility is directly caused by exposure to the material. Ample evidence exists, from results in experimentation, that developmental disorders are directly caused by human exposure to the material. Long term exposure to high dust concentrations may cause changes in lung function i.e. pneumoconiosis; caused by particles less than 0.5 micron penetrating and remaining in the lung. Prime symptom is breathlessness; lung shadows show on X-ray. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are found in a number of materials such as coal tar, tobacco smoke, petroleum and air pollution. Some substituted derivatives have been identified as extremely liable to cause cancer, especially that of the lung and genito-urinary tract. Some jurisdictions required that health surveillance be conducted on workers occupationally exposed to PHAs. Cited in many publications and by a number of regulatory authorities as a suspected human carcinogen.