Jump to Acknowledgements or Notes on the Tables

The Guide to Chemicals is designed to be a quick reference guide to approximately 2,000 chemicals which are of commercial interest. The chemicals have been divided into chemical "families" based on their chemical formulae. This division is somewhat arbitrary in that many chemicals can be classified into more than one family.

The reader who is searching for a particular chemical is advised to consult the chemical substances index in this volume to determine whether a chemical is covered and its location. The chemical substances index will also provide references to other chapters in the Encyclopaedia in which discussion of the chemical may also be found. The reader is referred to the chapters Metals: Chemical properties and toxicity and Minerals and agricultural chemicals for a systematic discussion of those elements and compounds and to the chapter, Using, storing and transporting chemicals for information on safe handling, usage, storage and transport of chemicals.

Each chemical family has a brief discussion of relevant toxicologic, epidemiologic or chemical safety information and four types of tables which summarize chemical, physical, safety and toxicologic data in a consistent format.

Because of page constraints, references for primary literature for the preparation of the textual materials are not provided here. The reader will be able to locate most primary data sources by referring to the Hazardous Substances Database (HSDB), produced by the US National Library of Medicine. In addition to the 3rd edition of this Encyclopaedia and the general scientific literature, the HSE Reviews published by the UK Health and Safety Executive served as a source of information. The Resources: Information and OSH chapter in this Encyclopaedia and the chapters mentioned above provide other general references.

The data on industrial uses of chemicals have been adapted from the 3rd edition of the Encyclopaedia and the HSDB. (For discussions of specific chemical industries, see the chapters Chemical processing, Oil and natural gas, Pharmaceutical industry and Rubber industry.)

Acknowledgements

This chapter is a collection of materials, some from articles in the 3rd edition of the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, which have been updated and consistently placed in tabular form.

The 4th edition contributors are:

Janet L. Collins       Pia Markkanen

Linda S. Forst         Debra Osinsky

David L. Hinkamp   Beth Donovan Reh

Niels Koehncke      Jeanne Mager Stellman

Kari Kurppa            Steven D. Stellman

Chemical structure diagrams which are given in the chemical identification tables were created using CS ChemDraw Pro and obtained from the ChemFinder Web Server, courtesty of CambridgeSoft Corporation (www.camsoft.com).

The 3rd edition contributors are:

M. V. Aldyreva        M. Lob

Z. Aleksieva            L. Magos

D. D. Alexandrov    K. E. Malten

G. Armelli                M. M. Manson

Z. Bardodej             P. Manu

E. Bartalini               J. V. Marhold

F. Bertolero             D. Matheson

G. W. Boylen, Jr.    T. V. Mihajlova

W. E. Broughton     A. Munn

E. Browning            S. Nomura

G. T. Bryan            K. Norpoth

D. D. Bryson          E. V. Olmstead

S. Caccuri              L. Parmeggiani

B. Calesnick          J. D. Paterson

N. Castellino          F. L. M Pattison

P. Catilina               M. Philbert

A. Cavigneaux       J. Piotrowski

W. B. Deichmann   J. Rantanen

D. DeRuggiero       D. W. Reed

P. Dervillee            G. Reggiani

E. Dervillee            C. F. Reinhardt

J. Doignon             V. E. Rose

H. B. Elkins            H. Rossmann

M. Evrard               V. K. Rowe

D. Fassett              N. I. Sadkovskaja

A. T. Fenlon           T. S. Scott

L. D. Fernandez-Conradi    G. Smagghe

I. Fleig                    G. C. Smith

V. Foá                    J. Sollenberg

A Forni                   M. J. Stasik

E. Fournier             R. D. Stewart

I. D. Gadaskina     W. G. Stocker

E. Gaffuri                F. W. Sunderman, Jr.

J. C. Gage              O. N. Syrovadko

P. J. Gehring           J. Teisinger

H. W. Gerarde         A. M. Thiess

W. G. Goode           A. A. Thomas

A. R. Gregory          T. R. Torkelson

P. Hadengue           T. Toyama

H. I. Hardy               D. C. Trainor

H. Heimann              J. F. Treon

E. V. Henson           R. Truhaut

A. Iannaccone         E. C. Vigliani

M. Ikeda                  P. L. Viola

M. Inclan Cuesta     N. I. Volkova

T. Inoue                   M. Wassermann

N. G. Ivanov            D. Wassermann

W. H. Jones            N. K. Weaver

F. Kaloyanova-Simeonova      D. Winter

B. D. Karpov            C. M. Woodbury

K. Knobloch             R. C. Woodcock

H. Kondo                 S. Yamaguchi

E. J. Largent           J. A. Zapp, Jr.

J. Levèque             M. R. Zavon

A. L. Linch              J. B. Zuzik

Notes on the Tables

The four types of tables found in each family are:

1. Chemical identification

These tables list chemical names, synonyms, UN codes, CAS-numbers and chemical or structural formulae. An attempt has been made to use the same chemical name for each substance throughout the discussions in this Guide and this Encyclopaedia, to the extent possible. No attempt has been made, however, to use only the nomenclature system of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Oftentimes the IUPAC name will be unfamiliar to those who work in a commercial setting and a less cumbersome and/or more familiar name is used. Thus the name which appears as the chemical name in the tables of each family is more often a "familiar" name than the IUPAC name. The list of synonyms given in these tables is not exhaustive but is a sample of some of the names which have been applied to the chemical. The CAS Registry Number (RN) is a numerical identifier used in each of the tables for consistent identification. The CAS number is unique and is applied to both chemicals and mixtures and is used universally and is in the format xxx-xx-x, which permits efficient database searching. The Chemical Abstracts Service is an entity within the American Chemical Society, a professional society of chemists headquartered in the United States.

2. Health Hazards

The data on short-term exposure, long-term exposure, routes of exposure and associated symptoms are adapted from the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) series produced by the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), a cooperative programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The abbreviations used are: CNS = central nervous system; CVS = cardiovascular system; GI = gastrointestinal system; PNS = peripheral nervous system; resp tract = respiratory tract.

The remaining data on target organs and routes of entry and their associated symptoms are taken from the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards published by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (1994, NIOSH Publication No. 94-116).

The following abbreviations are used: abdom = abdominal; abnor = abnormal/abnormalities; album = albuminuria; anes = anesthesia; anor = anorexia; anos = anosmia (loss of the sense of smell); appre = apprehension; arrhy = arrhythmias; aspir = aspiration; asphy = asphyxia; BP = blood pressure; breath = breathing; bron = bronchitis; broncopneu = bronchopneumonia; bronspas = bronchospasm; BUN = blood urea nitrogen; [carc] = potential occupational carcinogen; card = cardiac; chol = cholinesterase; cirr = cirrhosis; CNS = central nervous system; conc = concentration; conf = confusion; conj = conjunctivitis; constip = constipation; convuls = convulsions; corn = corneal; CVS = cardiovascular system; cyan = cyanosis; decr = decreased; depress = depressant/depression; derm = dermatitis; diarr = diarrhea; dist = disturbance; dizz = dizziness; drow = drowsiness; dysfunc = dysfunction; dysp = dyspnea (breathing difficulty); emphy = emphysema; eosin = eosinophilia; epilep = epileptiform; epis = epistaxis (nosebleed); equi = equilibrium; eryt = erythema (skin redness); euph = euphoria; fail = failure; fasc = fasiculation; FEV = forced expiratory volume; fib = fibrosis; fibri = fibrillation; ftg = fatigue; func = function; GI = gastrointestinal; gidd = giddiness; halu = hallucinations; head = headache; hema = hematuria (blood in the urine); hemato = hematopoietic; hemog = hemoglobinuria; hemorr = hemorrhage; hyperpig = hyperpigmentation; hypox = hypoxemia (reduced oxygen in the blood); inco = incoordination; incr = increase(d); inebri = inebriation; inflamm = inflammation; inj = injury; insom = insomnia; irreg = irregularity/ irregularities; irrit = irritation; irrty = irritability; jaun = jaundice; kera = keratitis (inflammation of the cornea); lac = lacrimation (discharge of tears);lar = laryngeal; lass = 1assitude (weakness, exhaustion); leth = lethargy (drowsiness or indifference); leucyt = leukocytosis (increased blood leukocytes); leupen = leukopenia (reduced blood leukocytes); li-head = lightheadedness; liq = liquid; local = localized; low-wgt = weight loss; mal = malaise (vague feeling of discomfort); malnut = malnutrition; methemo = methemoglobinemia; monocy = monocytosis (increased blood monocytes); molt = molten; muc memb = mucous membrane; musc = muscle; narco = narcosis; nau = nausea; nec = necrosis; neph = nephritis; ner = nervousness; numb = numbness; opac = opacity; palp = palpitations; para = paralysis; pares = paresthesia; perf = perforation; peri neur = peripheral neuropathy; periorb = periorbital (situated around the eye); phar = pharyngeal; photo = phtophobia (abnormal visual intolerance to light); pneu = penumonia; pneuitis = pneumonitis; PNS = peripheral nervous system; polyneur = polyneuropathy; prot = proteinuria; pulm = pulmonary; RBC = red blood cell; repro = reproductive; resp = respiratory; restless = restlessness; retster = retrosternal (occurring behind the sternum); rhin = rhinorrhea (discharge of thin nasal mucus); salv = salivation; sens = sensitization; sez = seizure; short = shortness; sneez = sneezing; sol = solid; soln = solution; som = somnolence (sleepiness, unnatural drowsiness); subs = substernal (occurring beneath the sternum); sweat = sweating; swell = swelling; sys = system; tacar = tachycardia; tend = tenderness; terato = teratogenic; throb = throbbing; tight = tightness; trachbronch = tracheobronchitis; twitch=twitching; uncon = unconsciousness; vap = vapor; venfib = ventricular fibrillation; vert = vertigo (an illusion of movement); vesic = vesiculation; vis dist = visual disturbance; vomit = vomiting; weak = weakness; wheez=wheezing.

3. Physical and chemical hazards

The data on physical and chemical hazards are adapted from the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) series produced by the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), a cooperative programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The risk classification data are taken from Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, 9th edition, developed by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and published by the United Nations (9th edition, 1995).

The following codes are used: 1.5 = very insensitive substances which have a mass explosion hazard; 2.1 = flammable gas; 2.3 = toxic gas; 3 = flammable liquid; 4.1 = flammable solid; 4.2 = substance liable to spontaneous combustion; 4.3 = substance which in contact with water emits flammable gases; 5.1 = oxidizing substance; 6.1 = toxic; 7 = radioactive; 8 = corrosive substance.

The Recommendations are addressed to governments and international organizations concerned with the regulation of the transport of dangerous goods. They cover principles of classification and definition of classes, listing of the principal dangerous goods, general packing requirements, testing procedures, marking, labelling or placarding, and transport documents. Special recommendations address particular classes of goods. They do not apply to dangerous goods in bulk which, in most countries, are subject to special regulations. The following UN classes and divisions are frequently found in the chemical tables in this Guide to chemicals and in the chapter Metals: Chemical properties and toxicity:

Class 2—Gases

Division 2.3—Toxic gases: Gases which (a) are known to be so toxic or corrosive to humans as to pose a hazard to health or (b) are presumed to be toxic or corrosive to humans because they have an LC₅₀ value equal to or less than 5,000 ml/m³ (ppm) when tested in accordance with 6.2.3. Gases meeting the above criteria owing to their corrosivity are to be classified as toxic with a subsidiary corrosive risk.

Class 4—Flammable solids; substances liable to spontaneous combustion; substances which in contact with water emit flammable gases

Division 4.2—Substances liable to spontaneous combustion: Substances which are liable to spontaneous heating under normal conditions encountered in transport, or to heating up in contact with air, and being then liable to catch fire.

Division 4.3—Substances which in contact with water emit flammable gases: Substances which, by interaction with water, are liable to become spontaneously flammable or to give off flammable gases in dangerous quantities.

Class 5—Oxidizing substances; organic peroxides

Division 5.1—Oxidizing substances: Substances which, while in themselves not necessarily combustible, may, generally by yielding oxygen, cause, or contribute to, the combustion of other material.

Class 6—Toxic and infectious substances

Division 6.1—Toxic substances: These are substances liable either to cause death or serious injury or to harm human health if swallowed or inhaled or by skin contact.

Class 8—Corrosive substances

These are substances which, by chemical action, will cause severe damage when in contact with living tissue, or, in the case of leakage, will materially damage, or even destroy, other goods or the means of transport; they may also cause other hazards.

UN Codes, identification numbers assigned to hazardous materials in transportation by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, are used to readily identify hazardous materials in transportation emergencies. Those preceded by "NA" are associated with descriptions not recognized for international shipments, except to and from Canada.

4. Physical and chemical properties

Relative density is measured at 20°C/4°C, ambient and water temperature, respectively, unless otherwise specified.

The following abbreviations are found: bp = boiling point; mp = melting point; mw = molecular weight; sol = soluble; sl sol = slightly soluble; v sol = very soluble; misc = miscible; insol = insoluble; pvap = vapour pressure; inflam. limit = inflammability limit (vol-% in the air); ll = lower limit; ul = upper limit ; fl. p = flashpoint; cc = closed cup; oc = open cup; auto ig. p = auto ignition point

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Traditionally, furniture factories have been located in Europe and North America. With the increased cost of labour in industrialized countries, more furniture production, which is labour intensive, has shifted to Far Eastern countries. It is likely that this movement will continue unless more automated equipment can be developed.

Most furniture manufacturers are small enterprises. For example, in the United States, approximately 86% of the factories in the wood furniture industry have fewer than 50 employees (EPA 1995); this is representative of the situation internationally.

The woodworking industry in the United States is responsible for manufacturing household, office, store, public building and restaurant furniture and fixtures. The woodworking industry falls under the US Bureau of the Census Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code 25 (equivalent to International SIC Code 33) and includes: wood household furniture, such as beds, tables, chairs and bookshelves; wood television and radio cabinets; wood office furniture, such as cabinets, chairs and desks; and wood office and store fixtures and partitions, such as bar fixtures, counters, lockers and shelves.

Because production lines for assembling furniture are costly, most manufacturers do not supply an exceptionally large range of items. Manufacturers may specialize in the product manufactured, the product group or the production process (EPA 1995).

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The printing, commercial photography and reproduction industries are important worldwide in terms of their economic significance. The printing industry is very diverse in technologies and in size of enterprises. However, regardless of size as measured by production volume, the different printing technologies described in this chapter are the most common. In terms of production volume, there are a limited number of large-scale operations, but many small ones. From the economic perspective, the printing industry is one of the largest industries and generates annual revenues of at least US$500 billion worldwide. Similarly, the commercial photography industry is diverse, with a limited number of large-volume and many small-volume operations. Photofinishing volume is about equally divided between the large and small-volume operations. The commercial photographic market generates annual revenues of approximately US$60 billion worldwide, with photofinishing operations comprising approximately 40% of this total. The reproduction industry, which consists of smaller-volume operations with combined annual revenues of about US$27 billion, generates close to 2 trillion copies annually. In addition, reproduction and duplication services on an even smaller scale are provided onsite at most organizations and companies.

Health, environmental and safety issues in these industries are evolving in response to substitutions with potentially less hazardous materials, new industrial hygiene control strategies, and the advent of new technologies, such as the introduction of digital technologies, electronic imaging and computers. Many historically important health and safety issues (e.g., solvents in the printing industry or formaldehyde as a stabilizer in photoprocessing solutions) will not be issues in the future due to material substitution or other risk management strategies. Nevertheless, new health, environmental and safety issues will arise that will have to be addressed by health and safety professionals. This suggests the continued importance of health and environmental monitoring as part of an effective risk management strategy in the printing, commercial photography and reproduction industries.

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Animal furs and leather from tanned animal hides and skins have been used to make clothing for thousands of years. Fur and leather remain important industries today. Fur is used to produce a variety of outer garments, such as coats, jackets, hats, gloves and boots, and it provides trim for other types of garments as well. Leather is used to make garments and can be employed in the manufacture of other products, including leather upholstery for automobiles and furniture, and a wide variety of leather goods, such as watch straps, purses and suitcases. Footwear is another traditional leather product.

Fur-producing animals include aquatic species such as beaver, otter, muskrat and seal; northern land species such as fox, wolf, mink, weasel, bear, marten and raccoon; and tropical species such as leopard, ocelot and cheetah. In addition, the young of certain animals such as cattle, horse, pig and goat may be processed to produce furs. Although most fur-bearing animals are trapped, mink in particular is produced on fur farms.

Production

The major sources of leather are cattle, pigs, lambs and sheep. As of 1990, the United States was the largest producer of bovine hides and skins. Other significant producers include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany (former Federal Republic) and India. Australia, China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, Turkey and the United Kingdom are major producers of sheepskins. Goatskins are largely produced in China, India and Pakistan. The major producers of pigskin are China, Eastern Europe and the former USSR.

An analysis prepared by Landell Mills Commodities Studies (LMC) for the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that the international market for hides is increasingly dominated by a few large producing countries in North America, Western Europe and Oceania, which allow free exportation of hides in any form. The tanning industry in the United States has been shrinking steadily since 1981, while most surviving tanneries in northern Europe have diversified in order to reduce dependence on the footwear-leather market. Worldwide footwear production has continued to shift primarily to Southeast Asia (ILO 1992).

Several factors influence the overall demand for leather throughout the world: the level, rate of growth and distribution of income; the price of leather compared to alternative materials; and changes in consumers’ preference for leather over alternative materials for a variety of products.

The fastest growing end-use sector in the leather industry has been leather upholstery, which accounted for about one-third of the world’s high-quality bovine leather production in 1990. Over one-third of all upholstery leather is destined for the vehicle industry and, according to LMC forecasts, the prospects for this subsector are fairly bright. The proportion of cars with leather upholstery has increased substantially through the 1990s.

The demand for leather garments is determined primarily by income and fashion, while fashion particularly influences the changing demand for specific types of leather. For example, a strong demand for the softer, more supple sheepskin leather in fashion garments motivated the production of the fashionable garment nappa from sheepskins and cattle hides.

The major producers of mink pelts in 1996 were Canada, the Russian Federation, the Scandinavian countries and the United States.

Between 1980 and 1989, leather employment increased in China, Hungary, India, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Uruguay and Venezuela and decreased in Australia, Colombia, Kenya, the Philippines, Poland and the United States. Leather employment also fell in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In Botswana leather employment declined sharply in 1984, then experienced a steep increase, doubling the 1980 level by 1988.

There are several issues which will affect future production and employment in the leather, footwear and fur industries. New technology, the relocation of footwear production to developing countries and environmental regulations in the tanning industry will continue to affect the skills and the health and safety of workers in these industries.

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In 1993, the worldwide production of electricity was 12.3 trillion kilowatt hours (United Nations 1995). (A kilowatt hour is the amount of electricity needed to light ten 100-watt bulbs for 1 hour.) One can judge the magnitude of this endeavour by considering data from the United States, which alone produced 25% of the total energy. The US electric utility industry, a mix of public and privately owned entities, generated 3.1 trillion kilowatt hours in 1993, using more than 10,000 generating units (US Department of Energy 1995). The portion of this industry that is owned by private investors employs 430,000 people in electric operations and maintenance, with revenues of US$200 billion annually.

Electricity is generated in plants which utilize fossil fuel (petroleum, natural gas or coal) or use nuclear energy or hydropower. In 1990, for example, 75% of France’s electrical power came from nuclear power stations. In 1993, 62% of the electricity generated worldwide came from fossil fuels, 19% from hydropower, and 18% from nuclear power. Other reusable sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal or biomass account for only a small proportion of world electric production. From generating stations, electricity is then transmitted over interconnected networks or grids to local distribution systems and on through to the consumer.

The workforce that makes all of this possible tends to be primarily male and to possess a high degree of technical skill and knowledge of “the system”. The tasks that these workers undertake are quite diverse, having elements in common with the construction, manufacturing, materials handling, transportation and communications industries. The next few articles describe some of these operations in detail. The articles on electric maintenance standards and environmental concerns also highlight major US government regulatory initiatives that affect the electric utility industry.

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