(1) Substance identification.

(a) Substance: Methylenedianiline (MDA).

(b) Permissible exposure:

(i) Airborne: Ten parts per billion parts of air (10 ppb), time-weighted average (TWA) for an eight-hour workday and an action level of five parts per billion parts of air (5 ppb).

(ii) Dermal: Eye contact and skin contact with MDA are not permitted.

(c) Appearance and odor: White to tan solid; amine odor.

(2) Health hazard data.

(a) Ways in which MDA affects your health. MDA can affect your health if you inhale it, or if it comes in contact with your skin or eyes. MDA is also harmful if you happen to swallow it. Do not get MDA in eyes, on skin, or on clothing.

(b) Effects of overexposure.

(i) Short-term (acute) overexposure: Overexposure to MDA may produce fever, chills, loss of appetite, vomiting, jaundice. Contact may irritate skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Sensitization may occur.

(ii) Long-term (chronic) exposure. Repeated or prolonged exposure to MDA, even at relatively low concentrations, may cause cancer. In addition, damage to the liver, kidneys, blood, and spleen may occur with long-term exposure.

(iii) Reporting signs and symptoms: You should inform your employer if you develop any signs or symptoms which you suspect are caused by exposure to MDA including yellow staining of the skin.

(3) Protective clothing and equipment.

(a) Respirators. Respirators are required for those operations in which engineering controls or work practice controls are not adequate or feasible to reduce exposure to the permissible limit. If respirators are worn, they must have the joint Mine Safety and Health Administration and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) seal of approval, and cartridges or canisters must be replaced as necessary to maintain the effectiveness of the respirator. If you experience difficulty breathing while wearing a respirator, you may request a positive pressure respirator from your employer. You must be thoroughly trained to use the assigned respirator, and the training will be provided by your employer. MDA does not have a detectable odor except at levels well above the permissible exposure limits. Do not depend on odor to warn you when a respirator canister is exhausted. If you can smell MDA while wearing a respirator, proceed immediately to fresh air. If you experience difficulty breathing while wearing a respirator, tell your employer.

(b) Protective clothing. You may be required to wear coveralls, aprons, gloves, face shields, or other appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin contact with MDA. Where protective clothing is required, your employer is required to provide clean garments to you, as necessary, to assure that the clothing protects you adequately. Replace or repair impervious clothing that has developed leaks. MDA should never be allowed to remain on the skin. Clothing and shoes which are not impervious to MDA should not be allowed to become contaminated with MDA, and if they do, the clothing and shoes should be promptly removed and decontaminated. The clothing should be laundered to remove MDA or discarded. Once MDA penetrates shoes or other leather articles, they should not be worn again.

(c) Eye protection. You must wear splashproof safety goggles in areas where liquid MDA may contact your eyes. Contact lenses should not be worn in areas where eye contact with MDA can occur. In addition, you must wear a face shield if your face could be splashed with MDA liquid.

(4) Emergency and first-aid procedures.

(a) Eye and face exposure. If MDA is splashed into the eyes, wash the eyes for at least fifteen minutes. See a doctor as soon as possible.

(b) Skin exposure. If MDA is spilled on your clothing or skin, remove the contaminated clothing and wash the exposed skin with large amounts of soap and water immediately. Wash contaminated clothing before you wear it again.

(c) Breathing. If you or any other person breathes in large amounts of MDA, get the exposed person to fresh air at once. Apply artificial respiration if breathing has stopped. Call for medical assistance or a doctor as soon as possible. Never enter any vessel or confined space where the MDA concentration might be high without proper safety equipment and at least one other person present who will stay outside. A life line should be used.

(d) Swallowing. If MDA has been swallowed and the patient is conscious, do not induce vomiting. Call for medical assistance or a doctor immediately.

(5) Medical requirements. If you are exposed to MDA at a concentration at or above the action level for more than thirty days per year, or exposed to liquid mixtures more than fifteen days per year, your employer is required to provide a medical examination, including a medical history and laboratory tests, within sixty days of the effective date of this standard and annually thereafter. These tests shall be provided without cost to you. In addition, if you are accidentally exposed to MDA (either by ingestion, inhalation, or skin/eye contact) under conditions known or suspected to constitute toxic exposure to MDA, your employer is required to make special examinations and tests available to you.

(6) Observation of monitoring. Your employer is required to perform measurements that are representative of your exposure to MDA and you or your designated representative are entitled to observe the monitoring procedure. You are entitled to observe the steps taken in the measurement procedure and to record the results obtained. When the monitoring procedure is taking place in an area where respirators or personal protective clothing and equipment are required to be worn, you and your representative must also be provided with, and must wear, the protective clothing and equipment.

(7) Access to records. You or your representative are entitled to see the records of measurements of your exposure to MDA upon written request to your employer. Your medical examination records can be furnished to your physician or designated representative upon request by you to your employer.

(8) Precautions for safe use, handling, and storage.

(a) Material is combustible. Avoid strong acids and their anhydrides. Avoid strong oxidants. Consult supervisor for disposal requirements.

(b) Emergency clean-up. Wear self-contained breathing apparatus and fully clothe the body in the appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment.