Chlorthalidone

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CHEMWATCH HAZARD RATINGS Min Max Flammability: 1 Toxicity: 2 Body Contact: 2 Min/Nil=0 Low=1 Reactivity: 1 Moderate=2 High=3 Chronic: 3 Extreme=4 CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK Irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin. Toxic to soil organisms.

Potential Acute Health Effects

SWALLOWED Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual. Large doses or frequent use of diuretics may produce fluid and electrolyte imbalance. This, in turn, may produce increased urination, dry mouth, increased thirst, irregular heartbeat, mood or mental changes, muscle cramps or pain, nausea or vomiting, unusual tiredness or weakness, weak pulse, blurred vision, diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, loss of appetite,skin rash, pruritus, and stomach cramps or pain. Large doses of thiazide diuretics can cause gastrointestinal disturbances with nausea, vomiting and increased bowel movements, and severe mineral imbalance. Potassium deficiency can result in confusion, dizziness and muscle weakness. Sulfonamides and their derivatives can cause extensive kidney damage, and destroy red blood cells. Overdose may cause an accumulation of acid in the blood or a diminished blood sugar level with confusion and coma resulting. EYE This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons. Eye drops with sulfonamides can cause local irritation, sensations of burning and stinging, blurred vision and loss of depth perception. The conjunctiva and cornea may become inflamed, and the cornea and lens may become clouded. SKIN This material can cause inflammation of the skin oncontact in some persons. The material may accentuate any pre-existing dermatitis condition. Skin contact is not thought to have harmful health effects, however the material may still produce health damage following entry through wounds, lesions or abrasions. 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 can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage. 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

Long-term exposure to respiratory irritants may result in disease of the airways involving difficult breathing and related systemic problems. There has been some concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations but there is not enough data to make an assessment. Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems. 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. Exposure to the material may cause concerns for humans owing to possible developmental toxic effects, on the basis that similar materials tested in appropriate animal studies provide some suspicion of developmental toxicity in the absence of signs of marked maternal toxicity, or at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects but which are not a secondary non-specific consequence of other toxic effects. Prolonged oral treatment with sulfonamides has caused nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, inflammation of the mouth cavity, impaired folic acid absorption, exacerbation of porphyria, acidosis, liver damage with impaired blood clotting, jaundice and inflammation of the pancreas. Effects on the kidney include blood and crystals in the urine, painful and frequent urination or lack of urine with nitrogen retention. 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. Crosses the placental barrier and is excreted in milk. The thiazides are chemically related to the sulfonamides.