Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

HEPTACHLOR EPOXIDE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Degradation product of heptachlor. Regeant

SYNONYMS

C10-H5-Cl7-O, "4, 7-methanoindan 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8-heptachloro-2, 3-epoxy-", "4, 7-
methanoindan 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8-heptachloro-2, 3-epoxy-", "3a, 4, 7, 7a-
tetrahydroepoxyheptachlor", HCE, "1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8-heptachloro-2, 3-epoxy-2, 3, 3a, 4,
7, 7a-hexahydro-4, 7methanoindene", "1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8-heptachloro-2, 3-epoxy-2, 3, 3a,
4, 7, 7a-hexahydro-4, 7methanoindene", "2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, -heptachloro-a, 1b, 5, 5a, 6,
6a-hexahydro-", "2, 5-methano-2H-indeno-(1, 2-b)oxirene", "2, 5-methano-2H-indeno-(1, 2-
b)oxirene", "hiptachlor epoxide", "heptachlor cis-oxide", beta-heptachloroepoxide, "2, 5-
methano-2H-oxireno(a)indene, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7-heptachloro-", "2, 5-methano-2H-
oxireno(a)indene, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7-heptachloro-", "1a, 1b, 5, 5a, 6, 6a-hexahydro-",
"ENT 25584", "Velsicol 53-CS-17", "Velsicol 53-CS-17", "chlorinated cyclodiene"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Danger of cumulative effects.
Limited evidence of a carcinogenic effect.
Toxic in contact with skin 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

  Toxic effects may result from the accidental ingestion of the material; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 40 gram may be fatal or may produce serious damage to the health of the individual.  Organochlorine pesticides excite the central nervous system, causing shortness of breath, cough, narrowing of airways and throat spasms. In the muscles it can cause twitches, spastic movements and seizures. Headache, dizziness and confusion may result as well as a feeling of warmth. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and difficulty in urination. There may be alterations in blood pressure or irregularities in heart rhythm. Delayed poisoning may occur after 30 minutes to several hours. Symptoms may include diarrhea, stomach pain, headache, dizziness, inco-ordination, "pins and needles", restlessness, irritability, confusion and tremors, progressing to stupor, coma and epilepsy-like or spastic seizures with frothing at the mouth, a contorted face, violent convulsions and limb stiffness. Tremors may spread from the face to the torso and limbs. Severe poisoning may cause continuous convulsion, fever, unconsciousness, labored breathing, rapid heartbeat and general depression; this is followed by lack of oxygen, collapse of breathing, and death. Kidney damage and inflammation and anemia has also been reported.  

EYE

  Although the material is not thought to be an irritant, direct contact with the eye may cause transient discomfort characterized by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn). Slight abrasive damage may also result. The material may produce foreign body irritation in certain individuals.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may produce toxic effects; systemic effectsmay result following absorption.  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.  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.  Chlorinated cyclodiene pesticides are absorbed through the skin. Central nervous system effects can occur, including hyperexcitability of muscle, which can cause twitching, jerks and convulsions. Symptoms can also include headache, nausea, vomiting, general unwellness and dizziness. Brain wave abnormalities can persist for months.  Exposure to the material may result in a skin inflammation called chloracne. This is characterized by white- and blackheads, keratin cysts, spots, excessive discoloration. These mainly involve the skin under the eyes and behind the ears. The reaction may be delayed. There may also be excess hair growth, degeneration of elastic tissue as a result of sunlight, and scarring of the membrane of the penis.  

INHALED

  The material is not thought to produce respiratory irritation (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless inhalation of dusts, or fume, especially for prolonged periods, may produce respiratory discomfort and occasionally, distress.  Inhalation of dusts, generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may produce serious damage to the health of the individual.  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.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  There has been concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations, but there is not enough data to make an assessment.  Repeated or long-term occupational exposure is likely to produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Exposure to the material may cause concerns for human fertility, on the basis that similar materials provide some evidence of impaired fertility in the absence of toxic effects, or evidence of impaired fertility occurring at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects, but which are not a secondary non-specific consequence of other toxic 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.  Exposure to organochlorine pesticides for long periods can cause multiple nervous system infections and disorders involving the brain and autonomic nerves with headache, dizziness, "pins and needles", tremor in the limbs, disturbances in nerves supplying blood vessels, pain in the bowel and stiffening of the bile duct, rapid heartbeat, hollow heart sounds and a tight pain in the chest. There can be blood problems with loss of platelets and white blood cells, change in blood cell distribution, anemia, loss of appetite and weight. There may be disturbed behavior. Some organochlorines may have female sex hormone-like effects, causing withering of the testicles, reduced fertility and disturbed sexual activity.  Human exposure to cyclodienes can cause reduction of blood cell numbers, leukemia and anemia. Prolonged exposure causes cumulative effects such as irritability, drowsiness, loss of appetite and acute exposure symptoms. There may be effects on the reproductive system.  Chronic poisoning is characterized by tremors, ataxia, convulsions, renal damage, respiratory failure and in extreme, death. Chronic feeding studies of technical grade heptachlor produced positive evidence of carcinogenicity in male and female mice, equivocal evidence in female rats and no evidence in male rats. In mice, hepatocellular carcinomas occurred in a highly significant dose-related trend. In rats there was evidence of proliferative lesions of the thyroid of females.