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Hill Brothers Chemical Company-Sodium Hydroxide 50% Liquid <br />http://www. hil I~roth ers.com/msds/sh501igd. han <br />enclosed spaces and can cause death. Follow appropriate tank entry proced-ores. <br />• Section VIII -Control Measures <br />Respiratory Protection: Good industrial hygiene practices recommend that engineering controls be <br />used to reduce environmental concentrations to the permissible exposure level. However, there aze some <br />exceptions where respirators may be used to control exposure. Respirators may be used when <br />engineering and work practice controls aze not technically feasible, when such controls are in the process <br />of being installed, or when they fail and need to be supplemented. If the use of respirators is necessary, <br />the only respirators permitted aze those that have been approved by the Mine Safety and Health <br />Administration or by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. <br />Ventilation: Ventilation is not usually required for sodium hydroxide solutions. Avoid creation of mist <br />or spray. If present weaz appropriate safety clothing and provide local exhaust systems. Where carbon <br />monoxide may be generated, special ventilation may be required. <br />Protective Clothing: Employees should be provided with and required to use impervious clothing, <br />gloves, face shield (eight-inch minimum), and other appropriate protective clothing necessary to prevent <br />any possibility of skin contact with solutions of sodium hydroxide. Materials suggested for use are <br />natural rubber, butyl rubber, neoprene, or vinyl. <br />Eye Protection: Employees should be provided with and required to use dust- and splash-proof safety <br />goggles where there is any possibility of sodium hydroxide contacting the eyes. Contact lenses should <br />not be worn when working with this chemical. <br />Other Protective Clothing or Equipment: Eyewash stations and safety showers must be available in <br />the immediate work azea for emergency use. <br />Worlc/IIygienic Practices: Avoid contact with the skin and avoid breathing dust or mist. Do not eat, <br />drink, or smoke in work area. Wash hands before eating, drinking, or using toilet facilities. <br />Section IX -Supplemental Information <br />Summary of Toxicology: Sodium hydroxide is a strong alkali; the mist, dust and solutions cause severe <br />injury to the eyes, mucous membranes, and skin. Although inhalation is usually of secondary importance <br />in industrial exposures, the effects from the dust or mist will vary from mild imtation of the nose at 2 <br />mglm3 to severe pneumonitis, depending on the severity of exposure. The greatest industrial hazard is <br />rapid tissue destnuction of eyes or skin upon contact with either the solid or with concentrated solutions. <br />Contact with the eyes causes disintegration and sloughing of conjunctival and corneal epithelium, <br />corneal opacification, mazked edema, and ulceration; after 7 to 13 days either gradual recovery begins, <br />or there is progression of ulceration and corneal opacification. Complications of severe eye burns are <br />symblephazon (adhesion of the lid to the eyeball) with overgrowth of the cornea by a vascularized <br />membrane, progressive or recurrent corneal ulceration, and permanent corneal opacificiltion. Onthe <br />skin, solutions of 25 to 50% cause the sensation of irritation within about 3 minutes; with solutions of <br />4%, this does not occur until after several hours. If not removed from the skin, severe bgrms with deep <br />ulceration will occur; exposure to the dust or mist may cause multiple small bums, with temporary loss <br />of hair. Ingestion produces severe pain in the esophagus and stomach, corrosion of the ljps, mouth, <br />tongue, and pharynx and the vomiting of large pieces of mucosa; cases of squamous cell cazcinoma of <br />the esophagus have occurred with latent penods of 12 to 42 years after ingestion; these cancers may <br />have been sequelae of tissue destruction and possibly scaz formation rather than from a direct <br />cazcinogenic action of sodium hydroxide itself. <br />Special Mixing and Handling Instructions: Considerable heat is generated when water is added to <br />sodium hydroxide; therefore, when making solutions always add the sodium hydroxide to the water with <br />constant stirring. The water should always be lukewarm (80° - 100° F). Never start with hot or cold <br />water. If sodium hydroxide becomes concentrated in one area, or if added too rapidly, or if added to hot <br />• or cold water, a rapid temperature increase can result in dangerous boiling and/or spatteding or may <br />cause an immediate violent eruption. <br />4 of 5 l0/ l4/44 1:35 PM <br />