Gallium(III) nitrate hydrate

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK LOW Contact with combustible material may cause fire. Contact with acids liberates toxic gas. Irritating to eyes and skin. Harmful to aquatic organisms.

Potential Acute Health Effects

SWALLOWED Although ingestion is not thought to produce harmful effects, the material may still be damaging to the health of the individual following ingestion, especially where pre-existing organ (e.g. liver, kidney) damage is evident. Present definitions of harmful or toxic substances are generally based on doses producing mortality (death) rather than those producing morbidity (disease, ill-health). Gastrointestinal tract discomfort may produce nausea and vomiting. In an occupational setting however, ingestion of insignificant quantities is not thought to be cause for concern. Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual. The substance and/or its metabolites may bind to hemoglobin inhibiting normal uptake of oxygen. This condition, known as "methemoglobinemia", is a form of oxygen starvation (anoxia). Symptoms include cyanosis (a bluish discoloration skin and mucous membranes) and breathing difficulties. Symptoms may not be evident until several hours after exposure. At about 15% concentration of blood methemoglobin there is observable cyanosis of the lips, nose and earlobes. Symptoms may be absent although euphoria, flushed face and headache are commonly experienced. At 25-40%, cyanosis is marked but little disability occurs other than that produced on physical exertion. At 40-60%, symptoms include weakness, dizziness, lightheadedness, increasingly severe headache, ataxia, rapid shallow respiration, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, lethargy and stupor. Above 60% symptoms include dyspnea, respiratory depression, tachycardia or bradycardia, and convulsions. Levels exceeding 70% may be fatal. Gallium is poisonous to the nerves and muscles, and it causes kidney damage. Sensitivity to light, blindness and paralysis can result. Treatment using radioactive gallium can cause metallic taste, drowsiness, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, skin inflammation with severe itching and edema, blindness and gastrointestinal disturbance. These symptoms are not due to radioactivity but gallium itself. EYE This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons. SKIN 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. Solution of material in moisture on the skin, or perspiration, mayincrease irritant effects. 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. The material may cause moderate inflammation of the skin either following direct contact or after a delay of some time. Repeated exposure can cause contact dermatitis which is characterized by redness, swelling and blistering. INHALED The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting. There is some evidence to suggest that 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 the product is not thought to produce chronic effects adverse to the health (as classified using animal models); nevertheless exposure by all routes should be minimized as a matter of course. 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.