First, let us note from the data sheet Roger so thoughtfully enclosed
that for the DOT a "reportable quantity" of the stuff is 1000 (that's one
thousand) pounds, yes POUNDS. And no label is required under 110 gallons,
that's GALLONS, folks!
Then, it gives possible exposure in terms of an 8-hour shift, and tells
you what to do if you get it in various body apertures, although how you
would do that given all the precautions listed is not immediately clear.
Now how do WE use it? First, we buy a pint, that's one pint, which is a
LIFETIME supply if used sensibly, meaning if the working solution is
filtered as needed and saved.
For actual use, we take 15 cc, that's 1/256th of a gallon. We
dilute this amount in a litre of water, making a 1.5% solution. The way we
use it is to pour it into a tray OUTDOORS, yes OUTDOORS, in fact in
October, when the air is clear and crisp. Wearing gloves. Then we put in
the class's paper, one sheet at a time, during a total of say, 5 minutes.
After about 10 minutes more we hang the paper on lines OUTDOORS to dry,
and return the solution to the glass jug for next year.
If a student misses this class and does it on his/her own, and has the
foolish disregard to do the operation indoors, the act is fairly
detectable by odor & the student is instantly executed, so "carcinogenic"
properties are irrelevant.
I rarely bet less than a million dollars, but I
would BET this fuss is a smokescreen for cracking down against drug mfr.,
as well as a general way of being goody-two shoes about stuff we use at
home, while letting large corporations totally despoil the known galaxy
(and about to get worse, it seems, even with the promised veto). Remember
how we all stopped using canned air because of what it does to the ozone
layer? I have a large can of the stuff in my cellar that I will
never NEVER use. Right? Doesn't everybody? Phil Perkiss told me about
reading somewhere that a company in New Jersey releases into the
atmosphere each MONTH the equivalent of something like 60 thousand cans of
canned air. They pay a monthly fine of something like 100 thousand
dollars, and still make a profit over the alternatives.
I think also of the book someone gave me about toxic poisons in my food.
Not a pleasant thought, but, as we know, all too true. So the book gave
approximate residues of pesticides in various foods. Better to know this,
right?
Well, you're reading along and see, hmmm, quite a lot of pesticide in
potatoes. Bad news. Next is spices & herbs ...like oregano -- good
grief, MORE pesticide in oregano than potatoes! Omigod, think of all
the pizza I had this month. Then you read a little closer & see quantities
are listed by weight of the FOOD, not of the pesticide. In other words,
when I eat as much oregano as a potato weighs I'll have eaten as much
pesticide as I get with -- one potato. I put the book in the compost
heap.
Now, please read the formaldehyde data, which I leave at the end of this
post, and mentally substitute, first the word "gasoline" for each of the
provisions (surely far worse in most categories, no?), and then
"cigarettes" (ditto). And one other thing...... my chemistry is
rudimentary and from BTF (before the flood) but reading the formula for
formaldehyde, I can believe that the components ultimately break down to
become oxygen, hydrogen and carbon in disposal.
What about the chrome and aluminum in the respective alums?
And remember, the formaldeyde is not discarded, but permanently recycled.
The only amount that enters the ecosphere is what evaporates from the
soaked paper. Using a 1.5 percent solution, figuring each sheet of paper
contains a cc ...... Well, try it another way. We use about half a litre
per year of working solution. We are releasing 7.5 cc of formaldehyde per
year into the air ......
Yours for clean living & common sense,
Judy
On Wed, 2 Aug 1995 R.Hyam@rbge.org.uk wrote:
> In the long run it is probably best to design protocols that are as 'edible'
> as possible. Not just for the user but for the environment etc etc. So more
> power to the arms of those coming up with alternatives.
[I certainly agree here, but ...... what is REALLY the "long run"]
>
> PRODUCT NAME: FORMALDEHYDE, 37% SOLUTION
> FORMULA: HCHO
> FORMULA WT: 30.03
> CAS NO.: 50-00-0
> NIOSH/RTECS NO.: LP8925000
> COMMON SYNONYMS: FORMALIN; METHYLENE OXIDE; METHYL ALDEHYDE; METHANAL
> PRODUCT CODES: 2106,2112,2105
> EFFECTIVE: 09/08/86
> REVISION #02
>
> PRECAUTIONARY LABELLING
> BAKER SAF-T-DATA(TM) SYSTEM
>
> HEALTH - 3 SEVERE (CANCER CAUSING)
> FLAMMABILITY - 2 MODERATE
> REACTIVITY - 2 MODERATE
> CONTACT - 3 SEVERE (CORROSIVE)
> HAZARD RATINGS ARE 0 TO 4 (0 = NO HAZARD; 4 = EXTREME HAZARD).
>
> LABORATORY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
>
> GOGGLES & SHIELD; LAB COAT & APRON; VENT HOOD; PROPER GLOVES; CLASS B
> EXTINGUISHER
>
> PRECAUTIONARY LABEL STATEMENTS
>
> POISON DANGER
> CAUSES BURNS
> MAY BE FATAL IF SWALLOWED OR INHALED
> MAY CAUSE ALLERGIC SKIN REACTION - COMBUSTIBLE
> NOTE: REPORTED AS CAUSING CANCER IN LABORATORY ANIMALS. EXERCISE DUE
> CARE.
> KEEP AWAY FROM HEAT, SPARKS, FLAME. DO NOT GET IN EYES, ON SKIN, ON
> CLOTHING.
> AVOID BREATHING VAPOR. KEEP IN TIGHTLY CLOSED CONTAINER. USE WITH ADEQUATE
> VENTILATION. WASH THOROUGHLY AFTER HANDLING. IN CASE OF FIRE, USE WATER
> SPRAY,
> ALCOHOL FOAM, DRY CHEMICAL, OR CARBON DIOXIDE. FLUSH SPILL AREA WITH WATER
> SPRAY.
>
> SAF-T-DATA(TM) STORAGE COLOR CODE: RED (FLAMMABLE)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 2 - HAZARDOUS COMPONENTS
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> COMPONENT % CAS NO.
>
> FORMALDEHYDE, 37% SOLUTION 37-38 50-00-0
> METHANOL 10-15 67-56-1
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 3 - PHYSICAL DATA
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> MSDS for FORMALDEHYDE, 37% SOLUTION Page 2
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> BOILING POINT: 96 C ( 205 F) VAPOR PRESSURE(MM HG): 1.3
>
> MELTING POINT: N/A VAPOR DENSITY(AIR=1): 1.0
>
> SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 1.08 EVAPORATION RATE: N/A
> (H2O=1) (BUTYL ACETATE=1)
>
> SOLUBILITY(H2O): COMPLETE (IN ALL PROPORTIONS) % VOLATILES BY VOLUME:
> 100
>
> APPEARANCE & ODOR: COLORLESS LIQUID, PUNGENT ODOR.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 4 - FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARD DATA
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> FLASH POINT (CLOSED CUP 60 C ( 140 F) NFPA 704M RATING: 2-2-
>
> FLAMMABLE LIMITS: UPPER - 73.0 % LOWER - 7.0 %
>
> FIRE EXTINGUISHING MEDIA
> USE WATER SPRAY, ALCOHOL FOAM, DRY CHEMICAL OR CARBON DIOXIDE.
>
> SPECIAL FIRE-FIGHTING PROCEDURES
> FIREFIGHTERS SHOULD WEAR PROPER PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND SELF-CONTAINED
> BREATHING APPARATUS WITH FULL FACEPIECE OPERATED IN POSITIVE PRESSURE
> MODE.
> MOVE CONTAINERS FROM FIRE AREA IF IT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT RISK. USE WATER
> TO KEEP FIRE-EXPOSED CONTAINERS COOL.
>
> UNUSUAL FIRE & EXPLOSION HAZARDS
> VAPORS MAY FLOW ALONG SURFACES TO DISTANT IGNITION SOURCES AND FLASH BACK.
> CLOSED CONTAINERS EXPOSED TO HEAT MAY EXPLODE. CONTACT WITH STRONG
> OXIDIZERS MAY CAUSE FIRE.
>
> TOXIC GASES PRODUCED
> FORMALDEHYDE, CARBON MONOXIDE, CARBON DIOXIDE
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 5 - HEALTH HAZARD DATA
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> THIS SUBSTANCE IS LISTED AS AN ACGIH SUSPECT HUMAN CARCINOGEN, NTP
> ANTICIPATED HUMAN CARCINOGEN. ACCEPTABLE MAXIMUMPEAK ABOVE THE ACCEPTANCE
> CEILING CONCENTRATION FOR AN EIGHT-HOUR SHIFT = 10 PPM FOR 30 MINUTES.
> (PEL) CEILING = 5 PPM.
>
> THRESHOLD LIMIT VALUE (TLV/TWA): 1.5 MG/M3 ( 1 PPM)
>
> SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE LIMIT (STEL): 3 MG/M3 ( 2 PPM)
>
> PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LIMIT (PEL): MG/M3 ( 3 PPM)
>
> TOXICITY: LD50 (ORAL-RAT)(MG/KG) - 800
> LD50 (SCU-RAT)(MG/KG) - 420
> LD50 (SKIN-RABBIT)(MG/KG) - 270
> LC50 (INHL-RAT) (MG/KG) - 590
>
> CARCINOGENICITY: NTP: YES IARC: NO Z LIST: NO OSHA REG: NO
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> MSDS for FORMALDEHYDE, 37% SOLUTION Page 3
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> EFFECTS OF OVEREXPOSURE
> INHALATION AND INGESTION ARE HARMFUL AND MAY BE FATAL.
> INHALATION OF VAPORS MAY CAUSE HEADACHE, NAUSEA, VOMITING, DIZZINESS,
> DROWSINESS, IRRITATION OF RESPIRATORY TRACT, AND LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
> CONTACT WITH SKIN OR EYES MAY CAUSE SEVERE IRRITATION OR BURNS. PROLONGED
> CONTACT MAY CAUSE SKIN SENSITIZATION. SUBSTANCE IS READILY ABSORBED
> THROUGH THE SKIN.
> INGESTION MAY CAUSE BLINDNESS.
> INGESTION MAY CAUSE NAUSEA, VOMITING, GASTROINTESTINAL IRRITATION, AND
> BURNS TO MOUTH AND THROAT.
> CHRONIC EFFECTS OF OVEREXPOSURE MAY INCLUDE KIDNEY AND/OR LIVER DAMAGE.
>
> TARGET ORGANS
> RESPIRATORY SYSTEM, EYES, SKIN
>
> MEDICAL CONDITIONS GENERALLY AGGRAVATED BY EXPOSURE
> NONE IDENTIFIED
>
> ROUTES OF ENTRY
> INHALATION, INGESTION, EYE CONTACT, SKIN CONTACT
>
> EMERGENCY AND FIRST AID PROCEDURES
> CALL A PHYSICIAN.
> IF SWALLOWED, IF CONSCIOUS, GIVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. INDUCE VOMITING.
> IF INHALED, REMOVE TO FRESH AIR. IF NOT BREATHING, GIVE ARTIFICIAL
> RESPIRATION. IF BREATHING IS DIFFICULT, GIVE OXYGEN.
> IN CASE OF CONTACT, IMMEDIATELY FLUSH EYES OR SKIN WITH PLENTY OF WATER
> FOR
> AT LEAST 15 MINUTES.
>
> TOXICITY TEST RESULTS AND SAFETY AND HEALTH EFFECTS ARE BASED ON
> THE SOLUTE.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 6 - REACTIVITY DATA
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> STABILITY: STABLE HAZARDOUS POLYMERIZATION: MAY OCCUR
>
> CONDITIONS TO AVOID: HEAT, FLAME, OTHER SOURCES OF IGNITION
>
> INCOMPATIBLES: STRONG OXIDIZING AGENTS, STRONG ACIDS, STRONG BASES,
> ALKALIES, ALKALI METALS, AMINES AND AMMONIA, PHENOL,
> STRONG REDUCING AGENTS
>
> DECOMPOSITION PRODUCTS: FORMALDEHYDE, CARBON MONOXIDE, CARBON DIOXIDE
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 7 - SPILL AND DISPOSAL PROCEDURES
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> STEPS TO BE TAKEN IN THE EVENT OF A SPILL OR DISCHARGE
> WEAR SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS AND FULL PROTECTIVE CLOTHING.
> SHUT OFF IGNITION SOURCES; NO FLARES, SMOKING OR FLAMES IN AREA. STOP
> LEAK
> IF YOU CAN DO SO WITHOUT RISK. USE WATER SPRAY TO REDUCE VAPORS. TAKE UP
> WITH SAND OR OTHER NON-COMBUSTIBLE ABSORBENT MATERIAL AND PLACE INTO
> CONTAINER FOR LATER DISPOSAL. FLUSH AREA WITH WATER.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> MSDS for FORMALDEHYDE, 37% SOLUTION Page 4
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> DISPOSAL PROCEDURE
> DISPOSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL
> ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS.
>
> EPA HAZARDOUS WASTE NUMBER: U122 (TOXIC WASTE)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 8 - PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> VENTILATION: USE GENERAL OR LOCAL EXHAUST VENTILATION TO MEET
> TLV REQUIREMENTS.
>
> RESPIRATORY PROTECTION: RESPIRATORY PROTECTION REQUIRED IF AIRBORNE
> CONCENTRATION EXCEEDS TLV. AT CONCENTRATIONS UP
> TO 50 PPM, A CHEMICAL CARTRIDGE RESPIRATOR WITH
> ORGANIC VAPOR CARTRIDGE IS RECOMMENDED. ABOVE
> THIS LEVEL, A SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS
> IS RECOMMENDED.
>
> EYE/SKIN PROTECTION: SAFETY GOGGLES AND FACE SHIELD, UNIFORM,
> PROTECTIVE SUIT, PROPER GLOVES ARE RECOMMENDED.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 9 - STORAGE AND HANDLING PRECAUTIONS
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> SAF-T-DATA(TM) STORAGE COLOR CODE: RED (FLAMMABLE)
>
> SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS
> KEEP CONTAINER TIGHTLY CLOSED. STORE IN A COOL, DRY, WELL-VENTILATED,
> FLAMMABLE LIQUID STORAGE AREA OR CABINET.
> STORE ABOVE 15 C.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
> 10 - TRANSPORTATION DATA AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --
>
> DOMESTIC (D.O.T.)
>
> PROPER SHIPPING NAME FORMALDEHYDE SOLUTION (FLASH PT. BELOW 141 F.)
> HAZARD CLASS COMBUSTIBLE LIQUID
> UN/NA UN1198
> LABELS NO LABEL REQUIRED UNDER 110 GALLONS
> REPORTABLE QUANTITY 1000 LBS.
>
>
>
> INTERNATIONAL (I.M.O.)
>
> PROPER SHIPPING NAME FORMALDEHYDE, SOLUTIONS
> HAZARD CLASS 3.3
> UN/NA UN1198
> LABELS FLAMMABLE LIQUID
>
>
> .
>