lab ventilation

[dp111]

Hi everyone,

I hope some of you can help me with a question I have. Our optical shop uses a small room (about 70 sq. feet) for edging and tinting. Lately, I am concerned about the smell coming from the tinting unit and cutting Hi-index lenses and also some dust coming from edging (I have Horizon II dry edger), and thinking about putting a ventilation system in the room.

Can any one inform me what kind of ventilation system would be needed, if needed at all, to have proper or well ventilation for an optical store? I was told by a contractor that a good ventilation system will cost about $1000, but I rather not spend that much of money if it is not needed.

Any response to my question would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

[Chris Ryser]

I hope some of you can help me with a question I have. Our optical shop uses a small room (about 70 sq. feet) for edging and tinting. Lately, I am concerned about the smell coming from the tinting unit and cutting Hi-index lenses and also some dust coming from edging (I have Horizon II dry edger), and thinking about putting a ventilation system in the room.

I can only speak for the tinting side.

Your neutralizer is a solvent, your dyes contain other chemicals than just pigment and water to prolong their life span under heat.

MSDS sheets never mention adverse health effects when these products are used under heat, which they always are.

Neutralizer comes from the glycol family whose fumes when heated are very toxic, inhaling is ingestion. Health effects of hot glycol fumes are serious liver and kindney disease. A conventional tinting unit should NEVER be used in an optical lab without proper ventilation to the outside.) Not into the air conditioning system.

Most probably out of greed your lens dye and tinting suppliers have neglected to give you the truth on their products. Using a tinting unit without proper ventilation puts your, your employees and even your customers at great health risks. If you operate a tinting unit in a central aie conditiones building or shopping center without proper ventilation you are emitting toxic fumes into the buildings system and could get into trouble with health departments which are getting more aware of it.

You can not smoke inside a store but you are allowed to breathe very toxic fumes.

You can also switch to a newer type high tech tinting system which has emitts NO toxic fumes, without need for ventilation, called Micro Tints System, you can find at http://optochemicals.com
The US Navy has just done that and the USW army is on the way of getting rid of their tinting units.

[Chris Ryser]

here is an excert on Neutralizer products when hot:


SECTION 2:

HARZARDEOUS INGREDIENTS

product

%

t.l.v.

c.a.s.#

lc50 route species

lc50 route, species

diethylene glycol monoethylether

60-100

---

111-90-0

5500 mg/kg (orl-rat)

8500 mg/kg (orl-rbt)

not available

ethylene glycol

30-60

50ppm

107-21-

1

4700 mg/kg (orl-rat)

9530 mg/kg (drm-rbt)

10..9 mg/kg (rat)




SECTION 6:

TOXICOLOGICAL PROPERTIES

INFORMATION:

INFORMATION FOR THIS PRODUCT IS BASED AT 100% CONCENTRATION OF HARZARDEOUS INGREDIENTS when hot

route of entry



skin contact

repeated contact with skin may cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals.

skin absorbtion

no evidence of adverse effects from available information

eye contact

causes irritation. causes pain. causes eye burns. may cause conjunctivitis.

inhalation

may cause irritation of the nose and throat with headache, particularly from mists. high vapour concentrations (caused by heating material) in an enclosed and poorly ventilated workplace may produce nausea, vomitting, headache, dizziness, and irregular eye movements.

swallowing, ingestion
inhaling
may cause abdominal discomfort or pain, nausea, vomitting, dizziness, drowsiness, malaise, blurring of vision, irritability, lumbar pain, oliguria, uremia, and central nervous systems effects, including irregular eye movement, convulsions and coma. cardiac failure and pulmonary oedema may develop, severe kidney damage follows the swallowing of large volumes of ethylene glycol. may be fatal. few reports have been published describing the development of weakness of the facial muscles, diminished hearing, and difficulty swallowing, during stages of severe poisoning.

effects of acute exposure

refer to route of entry

effects of chrionic exposure

repeated contact with skin may cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals. ethylene glycol has been shown to produce dose-related teratogenic effects in rats and mice when given by gavage or in drinking water at high doses or concentrations. also , in a preliminay studyto assess the effects of exposure of pregnant rats and mice to aeosols at concentrations 150, 1000, and 2500 mg/m3 for 6 hours a day throughout the period of organogenesis, teratogenic effects were produced at the highest concentration, but only in mice. the conditions of these latter experiments did notallow a cnclusion as to wehther the developmental toxicity was mediated by inhalation of aerosol, percutaneous absorbtion of ethylene glycol from hogh aerosol concentrations by whole-body or nose-only exposure, it was shown that nose-only exposure resulted in maternal toxicity (1000 and 2500 mg/m3), and developmental toxicity with minimal evidence of teratogenicity (2500 mg/m3) in

PURE NEUTALIZER



a further study in mice in mice no teratogenic effects could be produced when ethylene glycol was applied to the skin of prgnant mice ove a period of organogenesis. the above observations suggest that ethylene gly col is to be regarded as an animal teratogen; there is currently no available nformation to suggest that ethylene glycol is to be regarded as an animal teatogen; there is currently no available information to suggest that ethylene glycol has caused birth defects in humans. cutaneous application of ethylene glycol is ineffective in producing developmental toxicity; exposure to high aerosol is

only minimally effective in producing developmental toxicity; the major route for producing developmental toxicity is perorally. two chronic feeding studies, using rats and mice, have not produced any evidence that ethylene glycol causes dose related increases in tumor incidence, or a different pattern of tumors compared to untreated controls. the absence of a carcinogenic potential fro ethylene glycol has been supported by numerous in vitro genotoxicity studies showing that it does not produce mutagenic or clastogenic effects.

irritancy of material

see above





carcinogenicity

see above

reproductive effects

see above

medical condition aggravated by overexposure

kidney desease









SECTION 7:

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

gloves/type

chemical resistant gloves, rubber

clothing

apron or clothing to protect skin

respiratory type

if respiratory irritation is expierienced, use an approved air puridying respirator.

eye/type

chemical safety goggles, face shield

ventilation

adequate ventilation to maintain 1 ppm

waste disposal

in accordance with municipal, state or federal regulation

SECTION 8:

FIRST AID MEASURES







skin: remove conatminated clothing and wash affected aerea withplenty of soap and water. contact phisician if irritation occurs.



oral/ ingestion: seek immediate medical attention.



inhalation: remove to fresh air, if irritation persist’s,get medical attention..

in case of ingestion:, have victim drink two glasses of water. never give anyhting by mouth if victim is unconscious. induce vomitting if conscious. get medical attention without delay.

prymary route of ingestion

inhalation or ingestion. skin contact, eye contact

notes to phisician

the principal toxic effects of ethylene glycol, when swalloed are kidney damage and metabolic acidosis. ethanol is antidotal, and its early administration may block the formation of nephrotoxic metabolites of ethylene glycol in the liver. ethanol should be give intravenously, as a 5% solution in sodium bicarbonate, at a rate of about 10ml ethanol per hour. a desired therapeutic level of ethanol in blood 100 mg/dl. hemodialysis may be required. 4-methylpirazole, a potent inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase, has bee used therapeutically to decrease the metabolic consequences of ethylene





























pure neutralizer



glycol poisoning before coma, seizure and renal failure have occurred

(20 mg/kg/day) pulmoray oedema with hypoxemia has been described in a number of patients following poisoning with ethylene glycol.. the mechanism of production has not been elucidated , but it appears to be non cardiogenic in origin in several cases. respiratory support with mechanical ventilation and positive end-expiratory pressure may be required. there may be cranial nerve involvment in the late stages of toxicity from swallowed ethylene glycol. in particular, effects have been reported involving the seventh, eighth and ninth cranial nerves, presenting with bilateral facial paralysis, diminished hearing, and dysphagia.