p-Nitroaniline

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK Danger of cumulative effects. Toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed. Harmful to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment.

Potential Acute Health Effects

SWALLOWED ■ Toxic effects may result from the accidental ingestion of the material; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 40 gram may be fatal or may produce serious damage 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. 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 ■ Skin contact with the material may produce toxic effects; systemic effectsmay result following absorption. ■ 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. ■ 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 ■ Inhalation of vapors or aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may produce toxic effects. ■ 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. ■ 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

Repeated or long-term occupational exposure is likely to 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. Prime symptom is breathlessness; lung shadows show on X-ray. Most arylamines are powerful poisons to the blood-making system. High chronic doses cause congestion of the spleen and tumor formation. Prolonged exposure may produce liver damage in workers. Male mice administered p-nitroaniline by intubation (30 or 100 mg/kg/day), showed an increased incidence of hemangiosarcoma or hemangioma at all sites tested. This finding was not duplicated in female mice.