Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-62 - General occupational health standards › Part I - AIR CONTAMINANTS (SPECIFIC) › Section 296-62-07658 - Appendix C to WAC 296-62-076 - Medical surveillance guidelines for MDA

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) Route of entry:
Inhalation; skin absorption; ingestion. MDA can be inhaled,
				  absorbed through the skin, or ingested.
(2) Toxicology:
MDA is a suspect carcinogen in humans. There are several
				  reports of liver disease in humans and animals resulting from acute exposure to
				  MDA. A well documented case of an acute cardiomyopathy secondary to exposure to
				  MDA is on record. Numerous human cases of hepatitis secondary to MDA are known.
				  Upon direct contact MDA may also cause damage to the eyes. Dermatitis and skin
				  sensitization have been observed. Almost all forms of acute environmental
				  hepatic injury in humans involve the hepatic parenchyma and produce
				  hepatocellular jaundice. This agent produces intrahepatic cholestasis. The
				  clinical picture consists of cholestatic jaundice, preceded or accompanied by
				  abdominal pain, fever, and chills. Onset in about sixty percent of all observed
				  cases is abrupt with severe abdominal pain. In about thirty percent of observed
				  cases, the illness presented and evolved more slowly and less dramatically,
				  with only slight abdominal pain. In about ten percent of the cases only
				  jaundice was evident. The cholestatic nature of the jaundice is evident in the
				  prominence of itching, the histologic predominance of bile stasis, and portal
				  inflammatory infiltration, accompanied by only slight parenchymal injury in
				  most cases, and by the moderately elevated transaminase values. Acute, high
				  doses, however, have been known to cause hepatocellular damage resulting in
				  elevated SGPT, SGOT, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin.
Absorption through the skin is rapid. MDA is metabolized and
				  excreted over a forty-eight-hour period. Direct contact may be irritating to
				  the skin, causing dermatitis. Also MDA which is deposited on the skin is not
				  thoroughly removed through washing.
MDA may cause bladder cancer in humans. Animal data
				  supporting this assumption is not available nor is conclusive human data.
				  However, human data collected on workers at a helicopter manufacturing facility
				  where MDA is used suggests a higher incidence of bladder cancer among exposed
				  workers.
(3) Signs and
				symptoms:
Skin may become yellow from contact with MDA.
Repeated or prolonged contact with MDA may result in
				  recurring dermatitis (red-itchy, cracked skin) and eye irritation. Inhalation,
				  ingestion, or absorption through the skin at high concentrations may result in
				  hepatitis, causing symptoms such as fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, dark
				  urine, anorexia, rash, right upper quadrant pain, and jaundice. Corneal burns
				  may occur when MDA is splashed in the eyes.
(4) Treatment of acute toxic
				effects/emergency situation:
If MDA gets into the eyes, immediately wash eyes with large
				  amounts of water. If MDA is splashed on the skin, immediately wash contaminated
				  skin with mild soap or detergent. Employee should be removed from exposure and
				  given proper medical treatment. Medical tests required under the emergency
				  section of the medical surveillance subsection (13)(d) must be
				  conducted.
If the chemical is swallowed do not induce vomiting but
				  remove by gastric lavage.
Statutory Authority: Chapter 49.17 RCW. 93-04-111 (Order
					 92-15), § 296-62-07658, filed 2/3/93, effective
					 3/15/93.