WANSUPER 65016

SECTION 2: Hazards identification

2.1 Classification of the substance or mixture

[1] Not Applicable

2.2 Label elements

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Hazard pictograms

Not Applicable

Signal word

Not Applicable

Hazard statements

Not Applicable

Prevention

Not Applicable

Response

Not Applicable

Storage

Not Applicable

Precautionary statements

Disposal Not Applicable

Other physicochemical hazards

Solid.Combustible. Toxic smoke/fumes in a fire.

Health hazards

The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract (as classified by EC Directives 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 Inhaled Processing for an overly long time or processing at overly high temperatures may cause generation and release of highly irritating vapours, which irritate eyes, nose, throat, causing red itching eyes, coughing, sore throat Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures Not normally a hazard due to non-volatile nature of product The material has NOT been classified by EC Directives or other classification systems as 'harmful by ingestion'. This is because of the lack of corroborating animal or human evidence. 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 rather than those producing morbidity (disease, ill-health) Ingestion 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 High molecular weight material; on single acute exposure would be expected to pass through gastrointestinal tract with little change / absorption. Occasionally accumulation of the solid material within the alimentary tract may result in formation of a bezoar (concretion), producing discomfort The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or skin irritation following contact (as classified by EC Directives Skin Contact using animal models). Nevertheless, good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable gloves be used in an occupational setting Molten material is capable of causing burns Although the material is not thought to be an irritant (as classified by EC Directives), direct contact with the eye may cause Eye transient discomfort characterised by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn). Slight abrasive damage may also result The material may produce foreign body irritation in certain individuals Long-term exposure to the product is not thought to produce chronic effects adverse to health (as classified by EC Directives using animal models); nevertheless exposure by all routes should be minimised as a matter of course The material contains a substantial proportion of a polymer considered to be of low concern (PLC). The trend towards production of lower molecular weight polymers (thus reducing the required level of solvent use and creating a more 'environmentally-friendly' material) has brought with it the need to define PLCs as those having molecular weights of between 1000 and 10000 and containing less than 10% of the molecules with molecular weight below 500 and less than 25% of the molecules with a molecular weight below 1000. These may contain unlimited low concern functional groups or moderate concern reactive functional groups with a combined functional group equivalent weight (FGEW, a Chronic concept developed by the US EPA describing whether the reactive functional group is sufficiently diluted by polymeric material) of a 1000 or more (provided no high concern groups are present) or high concern reactive functional groups with a FGEW of 5000 or more (FGEW includes moderate concern groups if present) having molecular weights exceeding 10000 (without restriction on reactive groups) inhalation of polymers with molecular weights > 70,000 Da has been linked with irreversible lung damage due to lung overloading and impaired clearance of particles from the lung, particularly following repeated exposure. If the polymer is inhaled at low levels and/or infrequently, it is assumed that it will be cleared from the lungs Reactive functional groups are in turn classified as being of low, moderate or high concern Classification of the polymer as a PLC, in accordance with established criteria, does not mean that hazards will not be associated with the polymer (during its Continued import, manufacture, use, storage, handling or disposal). The polymer may, for example, contain a large number of particles in the respirable range, a hazard which may need to assessed in the health and safety risk assessment. Similarly a polymer with low concern reactive may be released into the environment in large quantities and produce an environmental hazard Whilst it is generally accepted that polymers with a molecular weight exceeding 1000 are unlikely to pass through biological membranes, oligomers with lower molecular weight and specifically, those with a molecular weight below 500, may. Estimations based on a 'highly' dispersed polymer population (polydispersity = 10) suggests that the molecular weight of the polymer carrying a reactive group of high concern must be 5000 to be considered a PLC; similarly a polymer of approximate molecular weight 1000 could contain no more than one reactive group of moderate concern (for two moderate concern groups, the molecular weight would be about 2500)

Environmental hazards

See Section 12