Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

QUATERNARY ETHOXYLATED TALLOW AMINE METHYL SULFATE

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Cationic surfactant. Fabric softener.

SYNONYMS

"tallow amido hydroxyethyl ammonium methosulfate", "methyl bis(hydrogenated tallowamido
ethyl) 2-hydroxyethyl ammonium", "methyl bis(hydrogenated tallowamido ethyl) 2-
hydroxyethyl ammonium", methylsulfate, "poly(oxy-1, 2-ethanediyl), alpha-[2-(bis(2-
aminoethyl)methylammonio)ethyl]-", "poly(oxy-1, 2-ethanediyl), alpha-[2-(bis(2-
aminoethyl)methylammonio)ethyl]-", "omega-hydroxy-, N, N'-bis(hydrogenated tallow acyl)
derivatives, ", "omega-hydroxy-, N, N'-bis(hydrogenated tallow acyl) derivatives, ",
"methyl sulfates (salts)", "methyl, hydrogenated tallow diethylenetriamine condensate, ",
"polyethoxylated, methyl sulfate", "ethoxylated hydrogenated diamidoamine ammonium
methyl sulfate", "quaternized/ quaternised ethoxylated tallowamine", "Accosoft 440"

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Harmful if swallowed.
Toxic to aquatic organisms.

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.  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  Ingestion may result in nausea, pain, vomiting. Vomit entering the lungs by aspiration may cause potentially lethal chemical pneumonitis.  Concentrated solutions of many cationics may cause corrosive damage to mucous membranes and the esophagus. Nausea and vomiting (sometimes bloody) may follow ingestion. Serious exposures may produce an immediate burning sensation of the mouth, throat and abdomen with profuse salivation, ulceration of mucous membranes, signs of circulatory shock (hypotension, labored breathing, and cyanosis) and a feeling of apprehension, restlessness, confusion and weakness. Weak convulsive movements may precede central nervous system depression. Erosion, ulceration, and petechial hemorrhage may occur through the small intestine with glottic, brain and pulmonary edema. Death may result from asphyxiation due to paralysis of the muscles of respiration or cardiovascular collapse. Fatal poisoning may arise even when the only pathological signs are visceral congestion, swallowing, mild pulmonary edema or varying signs of gastrointestinal irritation. Individuals who survive a period of severe hypertension may develop kidney failure. Cloudy swelling, patchy necrosis and fatty infiltration in such visceral organs as the heart, liver and kidneys shows at death.  Concentrated solutions of cationic surfactants may cause destruction of the tissue lining the mouth, throat and gullet, and may cause nausea and vomiting. In sufficient quantity may produce restlessness, confusion, low blood pressure, muscle weakness, collapse, convulsion, labored breathing, blue coloration of the lips and coma. Death may occur in 1-  4 hours. Fatal dose is estimated at 1-3 grams for certain cationics.  

EYE

  There is some evidence to suggest that this material can causeeye irritation and damage in some persons.  Many cationic surfactants are very irritating to the eyes at low concentration. Concentrated solutions can cause severe burns with permanent clouding.  

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.  Cationic surfactants cause skin irritation, and, in highconcentrations, caustic burns.  

INHALED

  The material is not thought to produce adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract (as classified using animal models). Nevertheless, good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting.  Inhalation hazard is increased at higher temperatures.  Inhalation of vapor may aggravate a pre-existing respiratory condition.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Principal routes of exposure are usually by skin contact/absorption and inhalation of vapor.  The material may contain 1,4-dioxane as a residual reactant.  Chronic exposure to dioxanes may produce injury to the liver, kidney and brain. Repeated or prolonged exposures may result in the formation of tumors, typically of the liver and gall-bladder.  Dioxane may be tumorigenic. Rats given repeated oral doses developed  liver and kidney damage at ulceration of the stomach at low dose rates  (90-200 mg/kg per day for 2 years). Higher doses, 1200 mg/kg per day for  13 months resulted also in hepatomas and carcinoma of the nasal cavity.