Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

VARN SW FOUNT

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

Fountain additive for lithographic printing, diluted at approximately 2% in water.

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

HARMFUL - May cause lung damage if swallowed.

POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS

SWALLOWED

  Considered an unlikely route of entry in commercial/industrial environments.  Ingestion may result in nausea, abdominal irritation, pain and vomiting.  The toxic effects of glycols (dihydric alcohols), following ingestion are similar to those of alcohol, with depression of the central nervous system (CNS), nausea, vomiting and degenerative changes in liver and kidney.  

EYE

  Although the liquid is not thought to be an irritant, direct contact with the eye may produce transient discomfort characterized by tearing or conjunctival redness (as with windburn).  

SKIN

  Most liquid alcohols appear to act as primary skin irritants in humans. Significant percutaneous absorption occurs in rabbits but not apparently in man.  There is some evidence to suggest that the material may cause mild but significant inflammation of the skin either following direct contact or after a delay of some time. Repeated exposure can cause contact dermatitis which is characterized by redness, swelling and blistering.  

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.  Aliphatic alcohols with more than 3-carbons cause headache, dizziness, drowsiness, muscle weakness and delirium, central depression, coma, seizures and behavioral changes. Secondary respiratory depression and failure, as well as low blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms, may follow. Nausea and vomiting are seen, and liver and kidney damage is possible as well following massive exposures. Symptoms are more acute the more carbons there are in the alcohol.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  There has been some concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations but there is not enough data to make an assessment.  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  There is limited evidence that, skin contact with this product is more likely to cause a sensitization reaction in some persons compared to the general population.  There is some evidence to provide a presumption that human exposure to the material may result in impaired fertility on the basis of: some evidence in animal studies 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 is not a secondary non-  specific consequence of other toxic effects.  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.  Glyceryl triesters (triglycerides), following ingestion, are metabolised to monoglycerides, free fatty acids and glycerol, all of which are absorbed in the intestinal mucosa and undergo further metabolism. Little or no acute, subchronic or chronic oral toxicity was seen in animal studies unless levels approached a significant percentage of calorific intake. Subcutaneous injections of tricaprylin in rats over a five-week period caused granulomatous reaction characterised by oil deposits surrounded by macrophages. Diets containing substantial levels of tributyrin produced gastric lesions in rats fed for 3-35 weeks; the irritative effect of the substance was thought to be the cause of tissue damage.  Dermal application was not associated with significant irritation in rabbit skin; ocular exposures were, at most, mildly irritating to rabbit eyes. No evidence of sensitisation or photosensitisation was seen in a guinea pig maximisation test. Most of the genotoxicity test systems were negative. Tricaprylin, trioctanoin and triolein have been used, historically, as vehicles in carcinogenicity testing of other chemicals. In one study, subcutaneous injection of tricaprylin, in newborn mice, produced more tumours in lymphoid tissue than were seen in untreated animals whereas, in another study, subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection in 4- to 6-week old female mice produced no tumours. Trioctanoin injected subcutaneously in hamster produced no tumours; when injected intraperitoneally in pregnant rats there was an increase in mammary tumours among the off-spring but similar studies in pregnant hamsters and rabbits showed no tumours in the off-spring.  The National Toxicological Program conducted a 2-year study in rats given tricaprylin by gavage. The treatment was associated with a statistically significant dose-related increase in pancreatic acinar cell hyperplasia and adenoma but there were no acinar carcinomas.  Tricaprylin is not teratogenic to mice or rats but some reproductive effects were seen in rabbits. A low level of foetal eye abnormalities and a small percentage of abnormal sperm were reported in mice injected with trioctanoin.