1. CHEMICAL PRODUCT & COMPANY IDENTIFICATION

 

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Common Names/Trade Names:

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide, Superabsorbent Polyacrylamide, Superabsorbent Polymer

 

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Supplier:

Castle International Resources Company
2370 West Highway 89A, Unit # 11-300
Sedona, AZ 86336

Emergency Phone: (928) 282-4099

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Commercial/Trade Names:

MaxSorbÔ , XeriGelÔ , Green CanteensÔ , HydrosourceÔ

 

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Chemical Name:

Potassium or Sodium Acrylate / Acrylamide Copolymer, Crosslinked

 

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2. COMPOSITION & INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS

 

Name	CAS #	TWA (mg/m3)	% by Weight
Acrylamide/Acrylate Copolymer, Crosslinked	31212-13-2	Supplier Recommended 0.05	Nominally. 100%
Acrylamide	79-06-1	TLV (ACGIH) 0.03	Trace – 3%
Water	7732-18-5	NA	2%-5% as shipped

 

3. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

Mechanical: Makes surfaces extremely slippery. When it has absorbed water, this material forms a gel which may make surfaces extremely slippery, posing a slip-and-fall hazard (among the other hazards associated with slippery surfaces). This effect is more pronounced with the finely-ground products and fines (dust) from the granular forms.
Contact: Irritates eyes. May slightly irritate skin.
Inhalation: Respirable dust may produce respiratory irritation. See Note Section # 11.

 

4. FIRST AID MEASURES

Eye Contact: Check for and remove contact lenses. Rinse with clean water, lifting lids occasionally to rinse beneath. If irritation persists, consult a physician.
Skin Contact: Remove contaminated clothing. Wash exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water. Treat any irritation symptomatically.
Inhalation: Remove victim to a well-ventilated area. If irritation develops, consult a physician with this MSDS in hand, if possible. If breathing becomes difficult, administer oxygen.
Ingestion: Consult a physician with this MSDS in hand, if possible. Do not induce vomiting except as directed by a physician.

 

5. FIRE & EXPLOSION DATA

6. ACCIDENTAL RELEASE MEASURES

Dry Spill: Do not rinse spilled area with water until the following steps have been completed. Take measures to exclude foot or vehicular traffic, to avoid tracking of material out of the spill area. Scoop up spilled dry material and place in an appropriate container for disposal or re-use. Sweep up dust and remaining material. Use a vacuum if necessary to remove powder residue. Vacuum must be equipped with a HEPA filter to avoid dispersing respirable dust into the air.

Once wet, remaining powder will cause surfaces to become extremely slippery, posing a hazard similar to ice. Once all visible powder has been retrieved, area may be rinsed with water, but it is essential that all slippery material be removed from hard surfaces where it may pose a slipperiness hazard.

Wet Spill: Exclude foot and vehicular traffic as above. Take precautions to avoid slipping and falling during cleanup. Use scoop, shovel or squeegee to collect wet material into suitable containers for disposal or re-use.

Dispose of material per Section # 13

 

7. HANDLING & STORAGE

Precautions: Keep from children. Keep away from food. Wear goggles or other eye protection to keep the dust out of your eyes. Since this material may irritate your skin, wear suitable equipment to avoid prolonged or repeated skin contact. Do not allow the dust to get under your clothing. Do not ingest: wash up thoroughly at breaks, before eating meals and when you are done handling this material. Never drink water which has been used to soak this product, or which has been in contact with it.

Always wear a dust mask or respirator, where the possibility of inhalation exists. Avoid creating dust clouds. Keep material (especially the dust) away from sparks and other sources of ignition.

Avoid conditions where you might slip on the wet material.

Storage: Store in a cool, dry place away from oxidizers. Shelf life of properly stored polymer should exceed 1 year.

 

8. EXPOSURE CONTROLS / PERSONAL PROTECTION

Engineering Controls: Adequate local exhaust should be provided when handling finely-divided material and if granular product contains fines (dust). Exhaust air may require filtration. Avoid deposition of dust on surfaces which are likely to become moist, due to the extreme slipperiness of the hydrated dust.

 

Personal Protective Equipment:

Respiratory Protection: Use appropriate MESA/NIOSH approved dust masks or respirators equipped with appropriate approved HEPA cartridges when particulate levels exceed, or may exceed, 0.05 mg/m³.

Skin Protection: Gloves are recommended. No special type of protective clothing is required, but prolonged or repeated skin exposure should be prevented, as should the entry of dust between the clothing and the body. A lab coat, or conventional long sleeved garments and long pants should suffice.

Eye Protection: Safety glasses with side shields or goggles should be worn to keep dust from the eyes. Avoid wearing contact lenses in the presence of dust.

Hygiene Measures: To avoid accidentally ingesting (eating) this product, Wash up at breaks and before eating meals.

After working with this material, remove contaminated shoes and clothing and wash up thoroughly with soap and water.

 

9. PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL PROPERTIES

Physical State & Appearance: Colorless to White granular solid or powder
Odor: None
Melting point: Approx. 390 deg. F. (Decomposes)
Boiling Point: Not Applicable
pH: Water used to hydrate polymer typically exhibits acid pH (5.5-6)
Flash Point: Not Applicable
Vapor Pressure: Negligible below decomposition temperature
Vapor Density: Not Applicable
Bulk Density: Varies with grind size and moisture content. For rough calculation purposes: 0.50 to 0.58 g/ml as shipped.
Solubility in Water: Negligible
Hydration Ratio: 1:100 to » 1:400 (Varies with grade and lot of material)

 

10. STABILITY & REACTIVITY DATA

Stability: Stable
Incompatibility: Strong Oxidizers
Hazardous Polymerization: Will not occur
Hazardous Decomposition Products: Thermal decomposition may release acrylonitrile, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides (NO_x).
Miscellaneous Issues: This material swells upon absorbing water and may pose a mechanical bursting hazard under certain conditions.

 

11. TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Acute Toxicity:

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide:
LD₅₀ (Oral, Rat) >5000 mg/kg
LD₅₀ (Dermal, Rabbit) >2000 mg/kg

Acrylamide:
LD₅₀ (Oral, Rat) 124 mg/kg
LD₅₀ (Dermal, Rat) 400 mg/kg
Neurotoxic Skin Permeator

Irritation:

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide:
Eyes: Moderate mechanical irritant by palpable powder or granular forms. Dust may cause stinging eyes.
Skin: Non-irritating to slightly irritating

Acrylamide:
Skin: Local skin irritant

Carcinogenicity:

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide:
None known

IARC monographs:
None

Acrylamide:
IARC Group 2B: "Possible Human Carcinogen" Animal Sufficient Evidence
OSHA "Select Carcinogen" per Laboratory Standard See Prop. 65 notice in Section # 15

Special Note: Unpublished preliminary research indicates that inhaled dust becomes hydrated in the lung and may act to absorb certain airborne contaminants: in particular, radon gas. This route of entry should be given special consideration in developing a program of workplace practices, engineering controls and personal protective equipment suitable to the actual conditions of use.

 

12. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION

Ecotoxicity, Persistence & Degradability:

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide is not known to exhibit direct ecotoxic effects. May act as a flocculant, resulting in increased sedimentation rates and deposition of suspended materials (as well as any chemical compounds adsorbed thereon) onto lake or riverbeds. The water-soluble extract of crosslinked polyacrylamide is not readily aquatically biodegradable under aerobic conditions (<10% after 28 days in a modified Sturm test).

Acrylamide monomer, a known impurity in crosslinked polyacrylamide and one of its foreseeable degradation products, is expected to leach readily into the ground and biodegrade within a few weeks, based upon experimental data. Acrylamide monomer does not adsorb onto solid surfaces, other than activated carbon, to a significant degree. It is known to pass virtually unchanged through water treatment facilities (where it is commonly used as a clarifying agent) and to undergo aquatic biodegradation by a wide variety of aerobic and anaerobic photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic microheteromorphs over the course of 8 to 12 days. The rate of biodegradation exhibits seasonal variability which, while linked to temperature change, is not a simple chemical kinetic function of temperature, instead depending on behavioral and compositional characteristics of the microheteromorph community. It is known that acrylamide monomer does not bioaccumulate in fish. Acrylamide monomer is known to cause species selective mortality in aquatic insects at levels of 5 – 40 m g/l.

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD): Not Available

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): Not Available

In the atmosphere, acrylamide monomer is expected to react with photochemically produced hydroxyl radicals (half-life of 6.6 hr).

 

13. DISPOSAL CONSIDERATIONS

Dispose of this material in accordance with all applicable Federal, State and Local regulations. Due to its persistence in aquatic media, discharge into drains, sewers or waterways is not recommended. May be expected to clog septic systems. May be expected to swell and clog drains, filters and plumbing traps. Contaminated packaging can be landfilled or incinerated, when in compliance with applicable Federal, State and Local regulations.

14. TRANSPORT INFORMATION

Non-Hazardous: Not regulated under United States Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR 172 et seq.).

15. OTHER REGULATORY INFORMATION

Crosslinked Polyacrylamide:

RCRA Status: Not a hazardous waste
Reportable Quantity (RQ): Not Applicable per 40 CFR Part 302
Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ): Not Applicable per 40 CFR Part 335
TSCA Status: All components of this product are on the TSCA inventory.
DSL Status: All components of this product are on the DSL.

Prop 65 Status: The following statement is made in order to comply with the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 and product distributed into or used in California should be labeled as follows. See the Act for specific label size, placement and typographical requirements.

WARNING: This product contains Acrylamide, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer.

US FDA: Use of Acrylamide & Polyacrylamides in foods & food-contact applications is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration

 

16. OTHER INFORMATION

Copyright 1999 by Dale Greenwood - Castle International Resources Company.