Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

MAGNESIUM ASCORBATE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Source of dietary magnesium.

SYNONYMS

C12-H14-O12.Mg, (C6H7O6)2Mg, "ascorbic acid, magnesium salt", Magnorbin

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Accidental ingestion of the material may be damaging to the health of the individual.  Use in food, and as food additive indicates high degree of tolerance.  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.  

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

  The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or skin irritation following contact (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable gloves be used in an occupational setting.  Irritation and skin reactions are possible with sensitive skin.  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 is not thought to produce either adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract 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.  Not normally a hazard due to non-volatile nature of product.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may 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..  Prolonged use of Vitamin C is associated with formation of kidneystones in some persons.  Chronic exposure to oxalates may result in circulatory failure or nervous system irregularities may follow prolonged calcium metabolism due to oxalation.  Prolonged and severe exposure can cause chronic cough, albuminuria, vomiting, pain in the back and gradual emaciation and weakness. Prolonged or repeated overexposure may result in delayed liver and/or kidney damage.  Certain rare individuals are subject to oxalosis (deposition of oxalates in the kidneys) and are unusually reactive to any exposure.  Rats administered oxalic acid at 2.5 and 5% in the diet for 70 days developed depressed thyroid function and weight loss. A study of railroad car cleaners in Norway who were heavily exposed to oxalic acid solutions and vapors revealed a 53% prevalence of urolithiasis (the formation of urinary stones), compared to a rate of 12% among unexposed workers from the same company.  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.