Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

LEAD BROMATE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Reagent. Intermediate

SYNONYMS

Br2-O6-Pb, Pb(BrO3)2

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Contact with combustible material may cause fire.
Danger of cumulative effects.
Irritating to eyes.
Limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect.
May cause harm to the unborn child.
Possible risk of impaired fertility.
Harmful: danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure through
inhalation.
Harmful by inhalation and if swallowed.
Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long- term adverse effects in the
aquatic environment.

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.  Bromate poisoning almost always causes nausea and vomiting, usually with pain of the upper abdomen. Loss of hearing can occur, and bromates damage the kidneys. It can also depress the central nervous system, causing restlessness, apathy and lethargy.  

EYE

  This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption.  There is some evidence to suggest that this material can cause inflammation of the skin on contact in some persons.  Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material.  Solution of material in moisture on the skin, or perspiration, mayincrease irritant effects.  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

  Inhalation of dusts, generated by the material, during the course of normalhandling, may be harmful.  There is some evidence to suggest that the material can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Harmful: danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure through inhalation.  This material can cause serious damage if one is exposed to it for long periods. It can be assumed that it contains a substance which can produce severe defects. This has been demonstrated via both short- and long-term experimentation.  Ample evidence exists that developmental disorders are directlycaused by human exposure to the material.  Ample evidence from experiments exists that there is a suspicionthis material directly reduces fertility.  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.  Chronic intoxication with ionic bromides, historically, has resulted from medical use of bromides but not from environmental or occupational exposure; depression, hallucinosis, and schizophreniform psychosis can be seen in the absence of other signs of intoxication. Bromides may also induce sedation, irritability, agitation, delirium, memory loss, confusion, disorientation, forgetfulness (aphasias), dysarthria, weakness, fatigue, vertigo, stupor, coma, decreased appetite, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, hallucinations,  an acne like rash on the face, legs and trunk, known as bronchoderma (seen in 25-30% of case involving bromide ion), and a profuse discharge from the nostrils (coryza). Ataxia and generalised hyperreflexia have also been observed. Correlation of neurologic symptoms with blood levels of bromide is inexact. The use of substances such as brompheniramine, as antihistamines, largely reflect current day usage of bromides; ionic bromides have been largely withdrawn from therapeutic use due to their toxicity. Several cases of foetal abnormalities have been described in mothers who took large doses of bromides during pregnancy.  Bromate produces tumours at multiple sites in male rats, including the kidney (adenomas and carcinomas), the thyroid gland (follicular cell adenomas and carcinomas) and the peritoneum (mesotheliomas); In the female rat, only kidney tumours are observed  Further, a clear dose-response relationship exists in tumour incidence and the severity/progression of tumours. The weight of evidence from the rat bioassays clearly indicates that bromate has the potential to be a human carcinogen.  Bromate is mutagenic both in vitro and in vivo. IARC (1986, 1999) has classified  potassium bromate in Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans), concluding that  there is inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans but sufficient evidence of  carcinogenicity in experimental animals. US EPA (2001b) has classified bromate as a  probable human carcinogen by the oral route of exposure under the 1986 EPA Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment (US EPA, 1986) on the basis of adequate evidence of carcinogenicity in male and female rats. Under the 1999 EPA draft Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment (US EPA, 1999), bromate is likely to be a human carcinogen by the oral route; the data on the carcinogenicity of bromate via the inhalation route are inadequate for an assessment of its human carcinogenic potential. Health Canada (1999) has classified bromate as probably carcinogenic to humans (sufficient evidence in animals;  no data in humans).  Observation of tumours at a relatively early time and the positive response of bromate in a variety of genotoxicity assays suggest that the predominant mode of action at low doses is due to DNA reactivity. Although there is limited evidence to suggest that the DNA reactivity in kidney tumours may have a non-linear dose-response relationship, there is no evidence to suggest that this same dose-response relationship operates in the development of mesotheliomas or thyroid tumours. Oxidative stress may play a role in the formation of kidney tumours, but the evidence is insufficient to establish lipid peroxidation and free radical production as key events responsible for induction of kidney tumours. Also, there are no data currently available to suggest that any single mechanism, including oxidative stress, is responsible for the production of thyroid and peritoneal tumours by bromate.  Bromate was mutagenic in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 in the presence of  S9 activation and produced chromosomal aberrations in cultured Chinese hamster  fibroblast cells. In assays using V79 Chinese hamster ovary cells, bromate increased the frequency of cells with micronuclei, the number of chromosomal aberrations and the number of DNA strand breaks and induced gene mutations at the HPRT locus. Positive results were also observed in in vivo studies. The number of aberrant metaphase cells was increased following single oral doses of potassium bromate in Long-Evans rats . Following either intraperitoneal injection or gavage dosing, the number of micronuclei was elevated in mouse micronucleus tests with MS/Ae and CD-1 mice strains. Intraperitoneal injection of bromate in F344 rats significantly increased the number of micronuclei in reticulocytes. Evidence of DNA damage, as indicated by elevated levels of 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine, has been observed in rats orally administered potassium bromate. The weight of evidence  demonstrates that bromate is clearly mutagenic in in vitro assays. The positive findings in in vivo studies show that this mutagenicity is also expressed in vivo. Thus, bromate should be considered a mutagenic disinfection by-product.  Lead can cross the placenta, and cause miscarriage, stillbirths and birth defects. Exposure before birth can cause mental retardation, behavioral disorders and infant death. Lead can also cause reduced sex drive, impotence, sterility and damage the sperm of males, increasing the potential for birth defects. Periods in women can also be affected.  Lead can accumulate in the skeleton for a very long time.  Lead, in large amounts, can affect the blood, nervous system, heart, glands, immune system and digestive system. Anemia may occur. If untreated muscles may become paralyzed, and there may be brain damage. Symptoms include joint and muscle pain, weakness in the back of the forearm and wrist and in the shin muscles, headaches, dizziness, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, vomiting, blue line on gums, sleep disturbance and a metallic taste in the mouth. The pressure in the brain may increase with high doses,  and cause brain damage, coma, and death. Early signs include loss of appetite and weight, constipation, tiredness and irritability, headache, weakness. Later there may be vomiting,  nervousness, and muscle pains in the arms and legs. Serious cases cause severe vomiting, inco-ordination, stupor, permanent eye damage, high blood pressure, multiple nerve disorders of the head resulting in paralysis and loss of reflexes, delirium, convulsions and coma. The kidneys may become irreversibly damaged, and the nervous system may become affected causing mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and jerks and seizures.