Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

KILN WASTE GAS DUST - DOLOMITE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

To raw materials pelletiser for recycling to raw materials bed. Sold to outside customer
(Clarke' s Lime Products)

SYNONYMS

"BHP Steel Port Kembla", "Waste Dolomite dust Fabric Filter dust Kiln waste dust Raw
Dolomite dust"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Causes burns.
Risk of serious damage to eyes.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  The material can produce chemical burns within the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract following ingestion.  Magnesium salts are generally absorbed so slowly that oral administration causes few toxic effects, as the dose is readily expelled via the bowel. If evacuation fails, mucosal irritation and absorption may result. This can result in nervous system depression, heart effects, loss of reflexes and death due to paralysis of breathing. These usually do not occur unless the bowel or kidneys are damaged.  Iron poisoning results in pain in the upper abdomen and vomiting, and is followed hours later by shock, in severe cases coma and death. Iron toxicity increases in proportion to their solubility in the gastrointestinal tract. There is often vomiting of blood due to dilation of capillaries and bleeding from the walls of the gastrointestinal system. A watery diarrhea can occur, often leading to cardiovascular collapse after fluid and mineral loss and there can be a relapse marked by profound metabolic acidosis after several hours of apparent recovery. There may also be liver damage. Symptoms of poisoning include metallic taste, restlessness, lethargy, loss of muscle tone, coma, pallor or cyanosis (blue-gray skin), fast and weak pulse, low blood pressure, hyperventilation, shock, vasomotor instability and cardiovascular collapse. There may be inflammation, swelling and bleeding from the lungs, convulsions, jaundice, low blood sugar, multiple blood clotting defects, kidney damage with absence of urine, damage to the pancreas, vascular damage, blood loss, shock and vascular collapse. Survivor can display stomach scarring, obstruction or narrowing of digestive tract sphincters, liver hardening or nervous system effects.  

EYE

  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  The material can produce chemical burns to the eye following direct contact. Vapors or mists may be extremely irritating.  

SKIN

  The material can produce chemical burns following direct contactwith the skin.  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.  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

  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.  The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects following inhalation (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, adverse effects have been produced following exposure of animals by at least one other route and good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  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.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Asthma-like symptoms may continue for months or even years after exposure to the material ceases. This may be due to a non-allergenic condition known as reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) which can occur following exposure to high levels of highly irritating compound. Key criteria for the diagnosis of RADS include the absence of preceding respiratory disease, in a non-atopic individual, with abrupt onset of persistent asthma-like symptoms within minutes to hours of a documented exposure to the irritant. A reversible airflow pattern, on spirometry, with the presence of moderate to severe bronchial hyperreactivity on methacholine challenge testing and the lack of minimal lymphocytic inflammation, without eosinophilia, have also been included in the criteria for diagnosis of RADS. RADS (or asthma) following an irritating inhalation is an infrequent disorder with rates related to the concentration of and duration of exposure to the irritating substance. Industrial bronchitis, on the other hand, is a disorder that occurs as result of exposure due to high concentrations of irritating substance (often particulate in nature) and is completely reversible after exposure ceases. The disorder is characterised by dyspnea, cough and mucus production.  There has been concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations, but there is not enough data to make an assessment.  Chronic excessive intake of iron have been associated with damage to the liver and pancreas. People with a genetic disposition to poor control over iron are at an increased risk. Iron overload in men may lead to diabetes, joint inflammation, liver cancer, heart irregularities and problems with other organs.  The material has been tested and found to have minimal respirable dust and Crystalline (Alpha) Quartz