Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

VISHAY M-BOND CURING AGENT 600/610

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Curing agent.

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

May form explosive peroxides.
Risk of serious damage to eyes.
May cause SENSITIZATION by inhalation and skin contact.
Irritating to respiratory system and skin.
Highly flammable.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  Ingestion of tetrahydrofuran may not, in itself, produce internal injury, however, contaminating levels of furan, present in certain grades of commercial product, may produce liver and kidney injury. The intake of alcoholic beverages may enhance the toxic effects of tetrahydrofuran.  

EYE

  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  The application of a 20% aqueous solution of tetrahydrofuran to rabbiteyes produced irritation.  

SKIN

  This material can cause inflammation of the skin oncontact in some persons.  Skin contact with the material may damage the health of the individual; systemic effects may result following absorption.  The material may accentuate any pre-existing dermatitis condition.  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.  Skin contact with tetrahydrofuran may produce smarting and reddening of the skin and after prolonged exposures, contact (non-allergic) dermatitis may result due to the degreasing effect of the substance.  Sensitization may result in allergic dermatitis responses includingrash, itching, hives or swelling of extremities.  

INHALED

  Inhalation may produce health damage*.  Inhalation of vapors or aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may be damaging to the health of the individual.  The material can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage.  Overexposure to tetrahydrofuran, by inhalation, may result in irritation of the mucous membranes and may produce coughing, chest pains, nausea, dizziness, headache and narcosis. Exposure to high concentrations can affect the central nervous system due to the strong narcotic effect of the material. Concentrations greater than 25000 ppm were reported to produce anaesthesia in animals. Anaesthetic properties are poor as onset is delayed and recovery is slow. Pronounced hypotension and marked respiratory hypernea accompany narcosis. Other symptoms include muscular hypotonia and disappearance of corneal reflexes, followed by coma and death.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  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.  There is some evidence that human exposure to the material may result in developmental toxicity. This evidence is based on animal studies where effects have been observed in the absence of marked maternal toxicity, or at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects but which are not secondary non-specific consequences of the other toxic effects.  Repeated exposure to tetrahydrofuran (THF) and its congeners has been associated with cytolytic hepatitis and fatty degeneration of the liver. Inhalation of THF at concentrations greater than 3000 ppm, 8 hours/day for 20 days, produced irritation and evidence for hepatic and renal injury in animals. Male rats inhaling more than 5000 ppm THF for 12 weeks, 4 hours/day showed signs of systemic intoxication, skin and respiratory irritation, liver function disturbance and abnormalities in glucose function. Muscle acetylcholinesterase activity increased in a concentration-dependent manner in male rats that inhaled 200 ppm for 18 weeks, 6 hours/day. Hepatic protein and mixed function oxidase activity also increased. At 2000 ppm, liver function was inhibited. In a 13-week inhalation study, ataxia was reported in rats at 5000 ppm and narcosis in mice at 1800 ppm. Hepatocytomegaly developed in mice of both sexes at 5000 ppm while uterine atrophy and degeneration of the adrenal cortex was found in female mice. A case history suggests that interaction of THF and endoflurane (an anaesthetic) may provoke epileptic seizures following surgery. The parent compound of tetrahydrofuran, furan, is carcinogenic in rats based on an increased incidence of cholangiocarcinoma and hepatocellular neoplasms of the liver and increased incidences of mononuclear cell leukaemia. In male and female mice, furan induced hepatocellular neoplasms and benign pheochromocytomas of the of the adrenal gland. 1,4-Dioxane, another cyclic ether solvent, is carcinogenic in rats and guinea pigs,  following oral administration, inducing malignant tumours of the liver in rats and malignant tumours of the liver of the gall-bladder in guinea pigs. 1,4-Dioxane is a promoter in two stage skin carcinogenic studies in mice. In a two-year inhalation study * there was evidence of carcinogenic activity of THF, in male rats, based on increased incidences of renal tube adenoma or carcinoma (combined) and in female mice based on an increased incidence of hepatocellular neoplasms. There was no evidence of carcinogenic activity in female rats or male mice exposed to 200, 600 and 1800 ppm THF by inhalation. * National Toxicology Program Technical Report Series No. 475.  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.