is DP harmful to breath or work with barehanded? i wear gloves now, but just curiuos.
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Dry preservatives bascially are non-toxic, but repeated inhalation of any foreign substance can cause lung damage. If you have decent ventilation in your work area, the dust should not be a problem. Also, it is not harmful through contact with skin, but constant use can promote dehydration of the skin, contributing to cracked finger tips. The greatest danger here is probably the substrate onto which you are applying the DP (raw animal skin that has been lying around in the open for ? hours). Suggestion: Don't sniff it -- and stick with your gloves.
It IS harmful to your health. Some brands more than others. Though the ingredients may be inert, they are hardly harmless. Talc and refined borax can clog your lungs and set you up for bronchitis,emphysema, or even clogging the vesicles similar to black lung disease. On the skin, DP is a dessicant and it does to YOUR skin what it does to animal skins; it drys it out. I've seen taxidermist with just horrible dermatitis due to their continued use of DP without wearing rubber gloves.
That's why I switched to Bess Maid by Touchstone for my DP. It's a heavier and less dusty product, but it still doesn't excuse me from wearing a dusk mask when I'm using it. I seldom touch an animal for any reason anymore without having rubber gloves on. With foxes, raccoons, and coyotes, I usually double glove as a protection from vectored diseases. Just like the ditty about fighter pilots, there are old taxidermists and bold taxidermists, but there aren't many old, bold taxidermists. Protect yourself.
Think about it if DP does work, how can you think its harmless to humans?
I had just as soon use a known poison, at lest you tend to be safer with a highly poison substance.
Do your self a favor, dont breath it!
Borax contians atoms of BORON, hum Boron has been used as a additive to gasoline.
Aluminum Sulphate, depending on quality can create high amounts of sulphuric acid, do you really want to breath this? It mixes with water! WHat is the fluids in your lungs made of?
Chemistry: Na2B4O7 -10H2O, Hydrated sodium borate.
Class: Carbonates
Subclass: Borates
Uses: an ore of boron and as a source of borax (a cleaning agent and useful industrial chemical)
Specimens
Borax is a complex borate mineral that is found in playa lakes and other evaporite deposits. The basic structure of borax contains chains of interlocking BO2(OH) triangles and BO3(OH) tetrahedrons bonded to chains of sodium and water octahedrons. Most old mineral specimens of borax are chalky white due to a chemical reaction from dehydration. They have actually altered (at least on their surface) to the mineral tincalconite, Na2 B4O7-5H2O, with the loss of water. This kind of alteration from one mineral to another leaves the original shape of the crystal. Minerologists refer to this as a pseudomorph, or "fake shape", because the tincalconite has the crystal shape of the predecessing borax.
Borax is directly deposited in arid regions from the evaporation of water in intermittent lakes called playas. The playas form only during rainy seasons due to runoff from adjacent mountains. The runoff is rich in the element boron and is highly concentrated by evaporation in the arid climate. Eventually the concentration is so great that crystals of borax and other boron minerals form.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Color is white to clear.
Luster is vitreous.
Transparency crystals are transparent to translucent.
Crystal System is monoclinic; 2/m
Crystal Habits include the blocky to prismatic crystals with a nearly square cross section. Also massive and as crusts.
Cleavage is perfect in one direction.
Fracture is conchoidal.
Hardness is 2 - 2.5
Specific Gravity is approximately 1.7 (very light)
Streak is white.
Associated Minerals are calcite, halite, hanksite, colemanite, ulexite and other borates.
Other Characteristics: a sweet alkaline taste, alters to chalky white tincalconite with dehydration.
Notable Occurrences include Trona, Boron, Death Valley and other California localities; Andes Mountains; Turkey and Tibet.
Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, color, associations, locality, density and hardness.
Signal word and definition:
Sporax - DANGER - HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED.
Protective precautions for workers: Applicators and handlers must wear long-sleeved shirt and long pants, shoes, socks and waterproof gloves. Wash thoroughly after handling. The Sporax formulation is exempt from the Worker Protection Standard because it is applied to a harvested portion which is not used for food, feed, or fiber.
Medical treatment procedures (antidotes): If swallowed, get medical attention immediately. If medical advice is not available, induce vomiting. If in eyes, flush with plenty of water. Get medical attention if irritation develops and persists. If on skin, remove clothing and wash skin with soap and water. If inhaled, remove victim to fresh air. In case of emergency, call your local poison control center for advice.
Handling, storage, and disposal: Do not contaminate water, food, or feed by storage or disposal. Do not store where children or animals may gain access. Open burning and dumping are prohibited. Pesticide that cannot be used or chemically reprocessed should be disposed of according to procedures approved by federal, state or local disposal authorities. Borax is stable at normal temperatures. Borax is not flammable, and may act as a fire retardant.
Improper disposal of excess pesticide, spray mixture, or rinsate is a violation of Federal law. If pesticide wastes cannot be disposed of by use according to label instructions, contact your State Pesticide or Environmental Control Agency, or the Hazardous Waste representative at the nearest EPA Regional Office for guidance.
Emergency (spill) hazards and procedures: In case of a spill, dike to prevent borax from entering drains, sewers or water courses. Shovel or sweep up spilled material into a container. Reclaim for salvage value or dispose of in accordance with federal, state and local regulations. In case of a large spill, call CHEMTREC at 1-800-424-9300 for advice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------Definitions
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adsorption - the process of attaching to a surface
avian - of, or related to, birds
carcinogenicity - ability to cause cancer
dermal - of, or related to, the skin
ecotoxicology - the study of the effects of environmental toxicants on populations of organisms originating, being produced, growing, or living naturally in a particular region or environment.
formulation - the form in which the pesticide is supplied by the manufacturer for use
fungicide - a substance intended to control or kill fungi
half-life - the time required for half the amount of substance to be decomposed or broken down by natural processes
LC50 - the concentration in air, water, or food which will kill approximately 50% of the subjects
LD50 - the dose which will kill approximately 50% of the subjects
leach - to dissolve out and transport through a substrate by the action of water
mg/kg - milligrams of the substance internalized per kilogram of test animal body weight
mg/L - milligrams per liter
microorganisms - living things too small to be seen without a microscope
mutagenicity - ability to cause genetic changes
non-target - animals or plants other than the ones which the pesticide is intended to kill or control
persistence - tendency of a pesticide to remain in the environment after it is applied
ppm - parts per million
residual activity - the amount of pesticidal activity that remains
volatility - the tendency of a liquid to evaporate
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Labat-Anderson Incorporated. 1991. Fruit Fly Program Chemical Background Statement. Boron-Containing Compounds. Arlington, VA.
Wilbur-Ellis Company. Sporax, Material Safety Data Sheet. Fresno, California.
Wilbur-Ellis Company. Sporax, Specimen Label. Fresno, California.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, 1993. Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED). Boric Acid and Its Sodium Salts. Washington, D.C. EPA Publication No. 738-R-93-017.
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X. Toxicity Categories
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Tables of Categories of Toxicity
Table I: Human Hazards Route of Administration Hazard
Category Signal word Oral
(mg/kg) Dermal
(mg/kg) Inhalation
(mg/L) Eye Irritation Skin Irritation
I DANGER
Poison 0.50 0-200 0-0.2 corrosive: corneal opacity not reversible within 7 days corrosive
II WARNING >50-500 >200-2000 >0.2-20 corneal opacity reversible within 7 days; irritation persisting for 7 days severe irritation at 72 hours
III CAUTION >500-5000 >2000-20,000 ->2.0-20 no corneal opacity; irritation reversible within 7 days moderate irritation at 72 hours
IV none >5000 >20,000 >20 no irritation mild or slight irritation at 72 hours
40 CFR 162.10 (h) (1), July 3, 1975
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Table II: Ecotoxicological Categories Toxicity
Category Mammalian
(Acute Oral)*
mg/kg Avian
(Acute Oral)*
mg/kg Avian
(Dietary)_
ppm Aquatic
Organismsá
ppm
very highly toxic <10 <10 <50 <0.1
highly toxic 10-50 10-50 50-500 0.1-1
moderately toxic 51-500 51-500 501-1000 >1-10
slightly toxic 501-2000 501-2000 1000-5000 >10-100
practically non-toxic >2000 >2000 >5000 >100
* Reflects dose given to test animals and is based on body weight of the test animal.
_Concentration in the diet. Unrelated to body weight of the test animal. Measure of environmental exposure.
áConcentration in water. Unrelated to body weight of test animal. Measure of environmental exposure.
Adapted from Insecticides, Brooks, H.L. et al. (1973) Cooperative Extension, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
Prepared by Information Ventures, Inc. under U.S. Forest Service Contract. November 1995
aluminum sulphate, a definitive conclusion of "toxic" could be reached. Therefore, collect necessary data has the potential association between exposure to aluminum salts in the environment and Alzheimer's disease.
Building on previous initiatives by Health Canada, the weight of evidence for potentially critical neurological effects of aluminum
Recent years have witnessed some convergence of opinion regarding the identity of the rhizotoxic species of aluminium. AlO4Al12(OH)24(H2O)127+ (Al13) and Al3+ are almost certainly toxic.
Review provides an explanation for phenomena.
very nice info. You get a A+ for your aditional info and research.
LOL Every one should have this info in the shops MSDS sheets and they should make it a common ritual to read them once or twice a year to remmeber to use gloves and dust masks. once the damage is done in your lungs, it takes a long time for your body ot try and repair it IF it can be done at all. Why take chances, gloves are cheap. if you are not allergic to them like I. I still use them to a extent anyway.
the quality of the content of your posts was unusually high!
I'm with Roadkill, A+, but I'm going to make it a BIG FAT A+!
Way to go, John!