Carbofuran-3-keto

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CHEMWATCH HAZARD RATINGS Min Max Flammability: 1 Toxicity: 3 Body Contact: 2 Min/Nil=0 Low=1 Reactivity: 1 1 of 8 CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK Harmful if swallowed. 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 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. Ingestion may produce nausea, vomiting, depressed appetite, abdominal cramps,and diarrhea. Carbofuran poisoning was reported in three female farm workers who were not wearing any protective clothing and were throwing carbofuran granules in a coffee plantation in Jamaica. Signs of poisoning included vomiting, lassitude, nausea and hypersalivation. EYE There is some evidence to suggest that this material can causeeye irritation and damage in some persons. Direct eye contact can produce tears, eyelid twitches, pupil contraction, loss of focus, and blurred or dimmed vision. Dilation of the pupils occasionally occurs. Carbofuran formulations of 25% wettable powder and 75% wettable powder were lethal when applied to rabbit eyes at doses of 21. 5 mg/kg and 18. SKIN The material is not thought to be a skin irritant (as classified using animal models). Abrasive damage however, may result from prolonged exposures. Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption. There may be sweating and muscle twitches at site of contact. Reaction may bedelayed by hours. 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 produce serious damage 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. Poisoning due to cholinesterase inhibitors causes symptoms such as increased blood flow to the nose, watery discharge, chest discomfort, shortness of breath and wheezing. Other symptoms include increased production of tears, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, involuntary passing of urine and stools, chest pain, breathing difficulty, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, loss of reflexes, twitching, visual disturbances, altered pupil size, convulsions, lung congestion, coma and heart failure. Symptoms of carbamate poisoning are similar to that of organophosphate poisoning, however, recover from carbamate poisoning is quicker and generally less likely to be cause death. Workers exposed to carbofuran by the inhalation route experienced blurred vision, nausea, excessive perspiration and a sense of weakness. Recovery was complete in a few hours but was considerably faster when atropine was administered.

Potential chronic health

Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems. 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. Repeated or prolonged exposures to cholinesterase inhibitors produce symptoms similar to acute effects. In addition workers exposed repeatedly to these substances may exhibit impaired memory and loss of concentration, severe depression and acute psychosis, irritability, confusion, apathy, emotional liability, speech difficulties, headache, spatial disorientation, delayed reaction times, sleepwalking, drowsiness or insomnia. In a chronic feeding study in the rat, the highest dietary level of carbofuran having no effect was 25 ppm; for the dog it was 20 ppm. 2 of 8