"The term physical effect generally refers to a material impairment of health or functional capacity caused by the intrinsic hazard(s) of a particular chemical in normal conditions of use or foreseeable emergencies. Scalds caused by exposure to chemicals at high temperatures, and slips and falls caused by treading on a solid chemical shaped in a rounded form or spilled liquids are not covered physical effects under the HNOC definition. By way of example, water is not classified as an HNOC merely because an employee might be scalded by contact with boiling water or because an employee might contract hypothermia by being immersed in cold water for a long period of time. Similarly, water is not classified as an HNOC by virtue of the fact that an employee might be injured when slipping and falling on a wet surface or when sprayed by water at high pressure. The foregoing examples of adverse physical effects that are outside the scope of HNOCs are designed to assist in better understanding the concept of HNOCs. They are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to chemicals, such as water, which are not hazardous chemicals."
On Sep 24, 2016, at 8:22 AM, McGrath Edward J <Edward.McGrath**At_Symbol_Here**REDCLAY.K12.DE.US> wrote:--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.orgI think Edward Movitz has answered the conundrum: it boils down (sorry, couldn't resist) to the origin. If water is purchased from a chemical supply company, the company must provide an SDS according to GHS. If water is piped in through the plumbing, there are regulations for what comes out of the spigot. I keep a copy of an SDS of H2O as liquid water on hand for my schools.
However, recognizing that my world is the K-12 science classes, the two main hazards posed by water (absent other chemicals) are 1) dangers of boiling water and 2) the slippery and almost invisible nature of water spilled on a linoleum floor. Neither of these appears on the SDS but both have resulted in student (and teacher) injuries.
One more water joke:
Johnny was a chemist's sonBut now he is no more.For what he thought was H2OWas H2SO4.
Cheers everybody
Eddie McGrath
Sent from my Galaxy Tab =AE A
-------- Original message --------From: Edward Movitz <movitz**At_Symbol_Here**OLEMISS.EDU>Date: 9/24/16 8:06 AM (GMT-05:00)Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] A Conundrum
Fisher scientific sell HPLC grade water with the sds located at:
https://www.fishersci.com/shop/msdsproxy?productName=W51&productDescription=WATER+HPLC+1LITER&catNo=W5-1&vendorId=VN00033897&storeId=10652
.....
--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.orgYou might want to check out the website www.dhmo.org, which has an MSDS for dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO).
Pat Redden--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 2:01 PM, Ben Ruekberg <bruekberg**At_Symbol_Here**chm.uri.edu> wrote:
--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.orgMy curiosity will not allow me to wait until April first, when it might be more excusable, to ask this question.
There is a chemical which can be found in almost every laboratory. Most laboratories even have it piped in. There are (M)SDSs for this material and yet, while I am told that we are required to have the (M)SDS for each of the chemicals in our laboratory on hand, I don't believe that many laboratories keep a copy of the (M)SDS for this substance in print. I refer, of course, to water.
OK, I hear you saying "Of course no one has the (M)SDS for water on hand. It's water." And I agree: I mean it's in the safety showers, we wash our hands with it before leaving the lab. But it's a chemical. I can understand why I would make an exception for it, but does OSHA?
Can anyone tell me why safety documentation is not required for water? Or is it? Or is it, but no one makes a fuss about it?
Thank you very much,
Ben
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