Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

J&J MEDICAL CIDEX ACTIVATED DIALDEHYDE SOLUTION

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Hospital grade disinfectant for stainless steel medical and surgical instruments.

SYNONYMS

"hospital grade glutaraldehyde instrument disinfectant"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Risk of serious damage to eyes.
May cause SENSITIZATION by inhalation and skin contact.
Harmful by inhalation and if swallowed.
Irritating to respiratory system and skin.
Harmful to aquatic organisms.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

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.  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  

EYE

  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  The vapour when concentrated has pronounced eye irritation effects and this gives some warning of high vapour concentrations. If eye irritation occurs seek to reduce exposure with available control measures, or evacuate area.  

SKIN

  This material can cause inflammation of the skin oncontact in some persons.  Skin contact is not thought to have harmful health effects, however the material may still produce health damage following entry through wounds, lesions or abrasions.  The liquid is discomforting to the skin.  Irritation may not occur immediately but may be delayed 24-48 hours.  Sensitization may result in allergic dermatitis responses includingrash, itching, hives or swelling of extremities.  Bare unprotected skin should not be exposed to this material.  The material may accentuate any pre-existing skin condition.  Toxic effects may result from skin absorption.  

INHALED

  If inhaled, this material can irritate the throat andlungs of some persons.  Not normally a hazard due to non-volatile nature of product.  Inhalation of vapor is more likely at higher than normal temperatures.  Acute effects from inhalation of high vapor concentrations may be chest and nasal irritation with coughing, sneezing, headache and even nausea.  Inhalation of vapor may aggravate a pre-existing respiratory condition.  Respiratory sensitization may result in allergic/asthma like responses; from coughing and minor breathing difficulties to bronchitis with wheezing, gasping.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Inhaling this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population.  Skin contact with the material is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population.  

  Principal routes of exposure are usually by skin contact with the material and inhalation of vapor.  Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause drying with cracking,irritation and possible dermatitis following.  Sensitization reactions may appear suddenly after repeatedsymptom free exposures.  Sensitization may give severe responses to very low levels of exposure, i.e. hypersensitivity. Sensitized persons should not be allowed to work in situations where exposure may occur.  Long term glutaraldehyde exposure has been reported to cause chronic fatigue.  In a 90-day study rats exposed to 49 ppb showed perinasal wetness and  significantly reduced body weight gain. No damage of the nasal mucosa was  evident at 49 ppb or 194 ppb although several serum enzyme levels were  raised. In a second study lasting 13-weeks, rats and mice exposed to high  levels of glutaraldehyde (1 ppm) for 6 hours daily, 5 days per week, showed  nasal passage lesions.  No evidence of internal organ toxicity was produced in subchronic drinking  water studies using rats, mice and dogs at concentrations up to 1000 ppm.  Genotoxicity studies using several assays have generally given varying  results. Developmental toxicity studies appear to demonstrate that  glutaraldehyde does not produce foetal toxicity, embryotoxicity or  teratogenic effects at maternally nontoxic doses. In a chronic 2-year  study using rats exposed to glutaraldehyde in drinking water there was  some evidence of oncogenic potential in female rats only as evidenced by  an increased incidence of larger granular cell lymphocytic leukaemia. The  pattern of response was indicative of a modifying influence on the  expression of spontaneous and commonly occurring neoplasms. There was no  evidence for non-oncogenic large organ toxicity.  Repeated application of aqueous solutions to rat skin (20 applications)  over 28 days at concentrations of up to 150 mg/kg/day produced mild  inflammatory effects without producing systemic toxicity.