Section 1 - CHEMICAL PRODUCT AND COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCT NAME

WATTYL SPARTAN SPRAY GUN WASH

NFPA

PRODUCT USE

The use of a quantity of material in an unventilated or confined space may result in
increased exposure and an irritating atmosphere developing.Before starting consider
control of exposure by mechanical ventilation. Used to clean paint residues form spray
guns and equipment.

SYNONYMS

"paint spray gun cleaner dichloromethane methylene chloride paint", stripper

Section 2 - HAZARDS IDENTIFICATION

CANADIAN WHMIS SYMBOLS

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW

RISK

Causes burns.
Risk of serious damage to eyes.
Toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed.
Toxic: danger of very serious irreversible effects through inhalation, in
contact with skin and if swallowed.
Very toxic to aquatic organisms.

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.  The material can produce chemical burns within the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract following ingestion.  Depression of the central nervous system is the most outstanding effect of most halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Inebriation and excitation, passing into narcosis, is a typical reaction. In severe acute exposures there is always a danger of death from respiratory failure or cardiac arrest due to a tendency to make the heart more susceptible to catecholamines (adrenalin).  Methanol may produce a burning or painful sensation in the mouth, throat, chest, and stomach. This may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, leg cramps, restlessness, confusion, drunken behavior, visual disturbance, drowsiness, coma and death. These symptoms may not occur until several hours after exposure. Visual impairment produces blurring, double vision, color distortion, reduced visual field, and blindness. In higher doses, the liver, kidney, heart and muscle can all be damaged. 10mL can cause blindness, and 60-200mL will cause death in adults.  Large doses of ammonia or injected ammonium salts may produce diarrhea and may be sufficiently absorbed to produce increased production of urine and systemic poisoning. Symptoms include weakening of facial muscle, tremor, anxiety, reduced muscle and limb control.  

EYE

  The material can produce chemical burns to the eye following direct contact. Vapors or mists may be extremely irritating.  If applied to the eyes, this material causes severe eye damage.  The material may produce severe irritation to the eye causing pronounced inflammation. Repeated or prolonged exposure to irritants may produce conjunctivitis.  

SKIN

  Skin contact with the material may produce toxic effects; systemic effectsmay result following absorption.  The material can produce chemical burns following direct contactwith the 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.  The material may cause severe skin irritation after prolonged or repeated exposure and may produce on contact skin redness, swelling, the production of vesicles, scaling and thickening of the skin. Repeated exposures may produce severe ulceration.  

INHALED

  Inhalation of aerosols (mists, fumes), generated by the material during the course of normal handling, may produce toxic effects; these may be fatal.  The material can cause respiratory irritation in some persons. The body's response to such irritation can cause further lung damage.  Inhalation of vapours may cause drowsiness and dizziness. This may be accompanied by narcosis, reduced alertness, loss of reflexes, lack of coordination and vertigo.  Acute intoxication by halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons appears to take place over two stages. Signs of a reversible narcosis are evident in the first stage and in the second stage signs of injury to organs may become evident, a single organ alone is (almost) never involved.  At high concentrations most of the absorbed methylene chloride (dichloromethane) is exhaled unchanged; the remainder is metabolised to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and inorganic chloride. Inhalation may produce fatigue, weakness, sleepiness, light-  headedness, chills, nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The lowest published lethal dose is 20,000 ppm for 20 hours. The body metabolises methylene chloride to carbon monoxide and adds to the body burden of carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) contributed by other sources. The increase in COHb is related to the magnitude of vapour exposure and duration. Serious poisoning can occur without raised COHb concentrations, although these raised concentrations may persist for several hours. Central nervous system (CNS) effects are thought to be due to methylene chloride itself or methylene chloride in combination with other sources of COHb, rather than the COHb metabolite. The raised COHb concentrations are not usually expected to produce adverse effects in healthy individuals but may be cause for concern in individuals with cardiovascular disease. Encephalopathy (brain injury) has been reported after repeated exposure. Angina, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac arrest have also been reported, although the cardiovascular system is not generally a target for methylene chloride toxicity. Hypotension, shock and metabolic acidosis may also occur as a result of overexposure. Respiratory failure may develop, secondary to CNS depression, in severe cases.  Inhalation exposure may cause susceptible individuals to show change in heart beat rhythm i.e. cardiac arrhythmia. Exposures must be terminated.  

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS

  Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.  Asthma-like symptoms may continue for months or even years after exposure to the material ceases. This may be due to a non-allergenic condition known as reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) which can occur following exposure to high levels of highly irritating compound. Key criteria for the diagnosis of RADS include the absence of preceding respiratory disease, in a non-atopic individual, with abrupt onset of persistent asthma-like symptoms within minutes to hours of a documented exposure to the irritant. A reversible airflow pattern, on spirometry, with the presence of moderate to severe bronchial hyperreactivity on methacholine challenge testing and the lack of minimal lymphocytic inflammation, without eosinophilia, have also been included in the criteria for diagnosis of RADS. RADS (or asthma) following an irritating inhalation is an infrequent disorder with rates related to the concentration of and duration of exposure to the irritating substance. Industrial bronchitis, on the other hand, is a disorder that occurs as result of exposure due to high concentrations of irritating substance (often particulate in nature) and is completely reversible after exposure ceases. The disorder is characterised by dyspnea, cough and mucus production.  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.  Dichloromethane exposures cause liver and kidney damage in animals and this justifies consideration before exposing persons with a history of impaired liver function and/or renal disorders.  Long-term exposure to methanol vapor, at concentrations exceeding 3000 ppm, may produce cumulative effects characterized by gastrointestinal disturbances (nausea, vomiting), headache, ringing in the ears, insomnia, trembling, unsteady gait, vertigo, conjunctivitis and clouded or double vision. Liver and/or kidney injury may also result. Some individuals show severe eye damage following prolonged exposure to 800 ppm of the vapor.  Dichloromethane is stored in body fat and metabolized to carbon monoxide, which reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of blood.