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Chemical Hygiene Plan - Queensborough Community College ...

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• All mineral acids are corrosive.<br />

• Noncombustible substances.<br />

• Some are highly reactive to certain substances, causing fire and/or explosions.<br />

Examples: Hydrochloric acid<br />

Hydrofluoric acid<br />

Hydroiodic acid<br />

Phosphoric acid<br />

Nitric acid<br />

Sulfuric acid<br />

ORGANIC CYANIDES (NITRILES)<br />

• These are organic derivatives of Hydrocyanic acid or the cyano-substituted<br />

organic compounds.<br />

• Nitriles are highly reactive, the CN group reacts with a large number of reactants<br />

to form a wide variety of products, such as amides, amines, carboxylic acids,<br />

aldehydes, ketones, esters, thioamides, and other compounds.<br />

• Nitriles are highly toxic compounds, some of them are as toxic as alkali metal<br />

cyanides.<br />

• Lower aliphatic nitriles are flammable and form explosive mixtures with air. The<br />

explosive range narrows down with an increase in the carbon chain length.<br />

Examples: Acrylonitrile Butyronitrile<br />

Acetonitrile<br />

Cyanohydrin<br />

ORGANIC ISOCYANATES<br />

• Organic groups attached to the isocyanate group.<br />

• These compounds are highly reactive due to the high unsaturation in the<br />

isocyanate functional group.<br />

• Isocyanates in general are highly reactive toward compounds containing active<br />

hydrogen atoms.<br />

• Most isocyanates are hazardous to health.<br />

• They are lachrymators and irritants to the skin and mucous membranes.<br />

• Skin contact can cause itching, eczema, and mild tanning.<br />

• Inhalation if isocyanate vapors can produce asthma-like allergic reaction, with<br />

symptoms from difficulty in breathing to acute attacks and sudden loss of<br />

consciousness.<br />

• Toxicities of isocyanates vary widely, in addition, health hazards differ<br />

significantly on the route of exposure but occur primarily via inhalation exposure.<br />

• Most isocyanates have high flash points, therefore the fire hazard is low.<br />

• However, closed containers can rupture due to the pressure built up from carbon<br />

dioxide, which is formed from reaction with moisture.<br />

Examples: n-Butyl isocyanate<br />

Methyl isocyanate<br />

Hexamethylene diisocyanate Phenyl isocyanate<br />

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