Strontium acetylacetonate hydrate

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS EMERGENCY OVERVIEW RISK Harmful by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed. Irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin. Harmful to aquatic organisms.

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 of 2,4-pentanedione (acetylacetone) may produce irritation of the mouth, oesophagus and stomach producing abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting diarrhoea, dizziness, malaise and fainting. ■ At sufficiently high doses the material may be neurotoxic(i.e. poisonous to the nervous system). EYE ■ This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons. ■ Exposure to 2,4-pentadione may produce excessive redness of the eyes and swelling of the conjunctivae; blinking and tearing may occur. Corneal damage is unlikely. SKIN ■ Skin contact with the material may be harmful; systemic effects may resultfollowing absorption. ■ The material may cause mild but significant 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. ■ Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material. ■ 2,4-Pentadione may produce contact dermatitis or urticaria. Prolonged contact with 2,4-pentanedione may produce severe discomfort or pain, redness and swelling and corrosion, ulceration and development of fissures. The inflamed area may show bleeding. ■ 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 dusts, generated by the material, during the course of normalhandling, may be harmful. ■ 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. ■ At sufficiently high doses the material may be neurotoxic(i.e. poisonous to the nervous system). ■ High doses of 2,4-pentanedione produced dyspnae, severe, central nervous system depression and death in experimental animals. Similar effects were produced at lower repeated doses although some animals survive and develop a central nervous system disorder characterised by irreversible cerebellar syndrome. Thymic necrosis and atrophy accompany the central nervous system damage. [Patty's]. Inhalation of vapours may produce narcosis.

Potential chronic health

Long-term exposure to respiratory irritants may result in disease of the airways involving difficult breathing and related systemic problems. Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems. There is limited evidence that, skin contact with this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population. 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. Repeated overexposure to 200 ppm 2,4-pentanedione vapor may result in inflammation of the nasal mucosa. Higher concentrations may produce central nervous system effects, and immune system and bone marrow deficits. Recurrent exposure to high concentrations of the 2,4-pentadione vapor (~650 ppm) produces lethal degenerative lesions in the central nervous system and thymus. Exposure in pregnancy can damage to fetus. Strontium accumulates in teeth and bone, especially in the growth plates of rapidly growing bone. A chronic diet high in strontium and low in calcium produces severe bone deformities, inco-ordination, weakness and paralysis. Most health concerns related to strontium arise from radioisotopes of strontium which occur in "fall-out" following testing of nuclear weapons.