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#1 Posted : 26 March 2007 09:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ian Cook Does anyone have a copy of a Material Safety Data Sheet for tipp-ex they could email me? Can't seem to find anything on the internet... Thanks in advance! Ian.
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#2 Posted : 26 March 2007 10:14:00(UTC)
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Posted By Tracey C Hi Ian If you ring your office supplies where you usually purchase from they will either e-mail it to you or fax it. I have done this before with other products. I was quite surprised at the immediate response really! T
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#3 Posted : 26 March 2007 11:33:00(UTC)
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Posted By holmezy Hi All, always wondered what people do with "tip-ex" to make it a "significant risk". Do they drink it, sniff it, (thought it was solvent free nowadays?) dab it behind their ears, dip their chips in it....what? Unless there are vast open tanks of the stuff and there is a risk of drowning, then I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it....but each to his or her own. Holmezy
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#4 Posted : 26 March 2007 15:54:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ian Cook Hi Tracy Thanks for the advice :) cheers Ian.
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#5 Posted : 26 March 2007 16:37:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter Leese You can easily spot the Tippex user - it's the one with a white ring on one nostril.
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#6 Posted : 26 March 2007 20:06:00(UTC)
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#7 Posted : 26 March 2007 20:37:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mike Nixon In most scenarios you can treat this material as having minimal risk as I believe the current product is relatively harmless. Due to this fact it can lead to flippant remarks. I however remember being quoted by a trainer over 10yrs ago two situations where the 'old' tippex was fatal. At one stage it used to contain perchlorethylene solvent (Xn)[dry cleaning fluid] somewhat akin to chloroform. The scenarios were both in homes for the mentally disturbed and access was gained to the office storeroom (that should have been kept locked) where supplies were stored. In one case the patient poured several bottles of tippex or the diluent onto a saucer and inhaled the fumes (glue sniffing), in the other several bottles were drunk by a 17 yr old. Both situations ended up with the patient dying. These cases may well be untrue but the lesson to be learnt is look for the worst case scenario of exposure along with amount used or available once you have obtained details of the product from the MSDS.
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#8 Posted : 27 March 2007 09:24:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ian Cook Tracey/Dave/Mike... Superb response, it will go a little way to helping my NEBOSH assignment... thanks again :) Ian.
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#9 Posted : 27 March 2007 10:32:00(UTC)
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Posted By halesowen Baggie If you take the worst case scenario for anything it will most likely lead to death. Where has significant risks and foreseeability gone to? Bonkers conkers!
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#10 Posted : 27 March 2007 10:52:00(UTC)
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Posted By IOSH Moderator All, As none of us has the full picture of why the info is required, please can we refrain from adding commentary unless the original poster requests it. Ian, - Are you happy with the info you have received? - Are you willing to shed any more light on the situation you are assessing, in order to focus the commentary a bit? Regards Jonathan Breeze
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#11 Posted : 27 March 2007 11:04:00(UTC)
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Posted By Ian Cook I asked for some help in locating an Material Safety Data Sheet for tipp-ex, and someone gladly posted me an address for it on the internet (all attempts to find it myself failed). So I'm more than happy. As for what I'm assessing, I'm currently doing the Unit B assignment for my NEBOSH Diploma (more info here http://www.nebosh.org.uk...entDocuments155v4845.pdf) So I'm currently going through the vast range of chemicals we use in our workplace - with tipp-ex being only one of them. I know its highly flammable, but a copy of the MSDS gives me more detail, such as first aid procedures and toxicological information etc - all relevant as far as this assignment is concerned.
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#12 Posted : 16 April 2007 13:42:00(UTC)
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Posted By James365 I'd agree with the previous comments that it does not pose a significant risk as far as COSHH is concerned, assuming it's an office type environment. The presence of kids, for example, might change that. And you'll be aware that on its own, flammability does not warrant a COSHH assessment. Greater chemical risks in an office type environment would typically be derived from materials used by cleaners and chemicals used in old-school CAD printers and the like (ammonia based). You might also have dosing chemicals for water tanks. I have had people deem the risks from laser printer fume as significant in the past (can contain ozone, apparently), but suspect that's worthy of a discussion on its own ;) Good luck
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#13 Posted : 16 April 2007 16:41:00(UTC)
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Posted By Dave Wilson They took 111 trich out of this stuff back in the 90's as it used to fall under COSHH. Most people think that it was very low risk however what if you had 500 gallons of the stuff in storage? I used to use this in trying to explain what COSHH was all about and how a MSDS is not a COSHH assessment as both will use the same MSDS but can pose significantly differing risks.
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#14 Posted : 17 April 2007 10:36:00(UTC)
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Posted By James365 "As none of us has the full picture of why the info is required, please can we refrain from adding commentary unless the original poster requests it. Johnathan Breeze" What a proposterous assertion. The heading of this forum includes the word "discussion" and I was actually quite interested in how this particular "discussion" was evolving. This forum has always been, at worst, an interesting distraction and, at its best, an invaluable resource. Such inappropriate moderation will only serve to detract from the site. Can I suggest you have a wee think about what this board actually means and the purpose it serves before you interject next time. Unless you would care to point out what was inappropriate about the unfolding discussion above and what rules - implied or other - were being broken by the contributions of others. The kind of approach adopted here is what gives "the health and safety man" a bad name. Poor show.
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#15 Posted : 17 April 2007 12:18:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter Leese Mike - the question was about tippex - a substance almost completely without risk in terms of COSHH. Flippant remark - is it intended this forum is to be completely without humour?
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#16 Posted : 17 April 2007 12:28:00(UTC)
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Posted By holmezy Peter, I have watched this post with interest as, I think, I was the one to whom the "flippant" accusation was aimed. I wasn't being flippant, sarcastic or anything else for that matter, I just cant understand why people spend time doing coshh assessments on Tippex, especially now its trich free. Also, the reason for the query was an assignment for the Diploma.....I'd be reluctant to include tippex as the guidance for the diploma suggests that "substances which offer substantial content value" or something like it. I dont think that it would be worth wasting time or words on correction fluid, and I dont think the examiners would be to impressed either. Now, if there was a brief comment saying, "correction fluid was considered to be an in-substantial risk and therefore no coshh required",,,,,,that might be different. Sorry if I upset anyone, yours humbly Holmezy
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#17 Posted : 17 April 2007 12:46:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul Durkin Hi Ian, I agree with Dave if you are seeking MSDS for COSHH, then not a lot of point apart from elimination. I can remember attending a COSHH presentation by the HSE in 1988,when even old fashioned Tipp-Ex(trich)was considered NOT to warrant an assessment as it's use is effectively controlled by design. Bottles of solvent used to dilute the stuff a different matter. As has been suggested trich. has gone(dried out) and water based formulations are used i.e, Tipp-Ex: Aqua/Rapid !! Regards, Paul
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#18 Posted : 17 April 2007 13:05:00(UTC)
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Posted By J Knight As one poster has already said outright and others have hinted; the reason old style tippex carried a warning was because of trichloroethylene; RAs were (and are) required for significant (bulk) quantities of this stuff, but the amount present in a tippex bottle was always regarded as a trivial risk. I know of somebody who almost died from fairy liquid (inhaled his vomit after drinking a cupful of it) and somebody else who ended up in ITU after a minor cut to his finger. I don't do COSHH assessments for fairy, and I don't ban paper, scissors, kitchen knives and so on, John
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#19 Posted : 17 April 2007 14:14:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis Ian Where did you get the highly flammable information from? The modern versions have flash points of >230 degrees F, and the older versions were not flammable either. Toxicity can be a problem but the need to drink large quantities is likel;y to rule this out as a major issue. If you search under correction fluids you will get many hits. Bob
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#20 Posted : 17 April 2007 15:34:00(UTC)
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Posted By Jane Blunt The bottle on my desk has a highly flammable sign on it. I think there is more than one formulation in use.
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#21 Posted : 17 April 2007 15:38:00(UTC)
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Posted By Sally Interestingly mine is labelled flammable, irritant and 'without chlorinated hydrocarbons'
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#22 Posted : 17 April 2007 15:49:00(UTC)
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Posted By Peter Leese Holmezy - actually I thought it was aimed at me! I once joined TPA (The Paranoids Association), but soon found out they all had it in for me (or is infamy?). I do despair at people who insist on wasting time and paper on trivia.
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#23 Posted : 17 April 2007 15:55:00(UTC)
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Posted By Robert K Lewis I think the problem is that many manufacturers are using the hazard symbols on labels without reference to the solvent mixture and merely re-iterate the properties of the individual ingredients. The aqueous versions often use alcohols which are flammable - but not in aqueous solutions as used in the product. It really is one of the problems of much of the labelling around at the moment when it comes to hazard symbols and mixed substances. Bob
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#24 Posted : 17 April 2007 16:26:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mick154 Class 3 Flammable Liquids Criteria The heading of Class 3 covers substances and articles containing substances of this Class which: - are liquids according to subparagraph (a) of the definition for "liquid" in 1.2.1; - have at 50 °C a vapour pressure of not more than 300 kPa (3 bar) and are not completely gaseous at 20 °C and at standard pressure of 101.3 kPa; and - have a flash-point of not more than 60 °C The heading of Class 3 also covers liquid substances and molten solid substances with a flash-point of more than 60°C and which are carried or handed over for carriage whilst heated at temperatures equal to or higher than their flash-point. The heading of Class 3 also covers liquid desensitized explosives. Liquid desensitized explosives are explosive substances which are dissolved or suspended in water or other liquid substances, to form an homogeneous liquid mixture to suppress their explosive properties.. then The substances and articles of Class 3 are subdivided as follows: F Flammable liquids, without subsidiary risk: F1 Flammable liquids having a flash-point of or below 60 °C; F2 Flammable liquids having a flash-point above 60 °C which are carried or handed over for carriage at or above their flash-point (elevated temperature substances); FT Flammable liquids, toxic: FT1 Flammable liquids, toxic; FT2 Pesticides; FC Flammable liquids, corrosive; FTC Flammable liquids, toxic, corrosive; D Liquid desensitized explosives. Substances and articles classified in Class 3 are listed in Table A of Chapter 3.2. Substances not mentioned by name in Table A of Chapter 3.2 shall be assigned to the relevant entry of 2.2.3.3 and the relevant packing group in accordance with the provisions of this section. Flammable liquids shall be assigned to one of the following packing groups according to the degree of danger they present for carriage: Packing group//Flash point (closed cup)//Initial boiling point I//--//=35°C IIa//23C//> 35°C IIIa//= 23°C = 60C//> 35°C The dependant of the volume or quantity per package it may or may not be hazardous for transport??? Hope it helps to find out more follow http://www.unece.org/tra...adr2007/07ContentsE.html the 2007 ADR regulations
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#25 Posted : 17 April 2007 16:58:00(UTC)
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Posted By TBC I've been told by many EHOs etc that they would not expect a COSHH assessment on tippex.
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#26 Posted : 20 April 2007 12:16:00(UTC)
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Posted By Mike Palfrey Phew 25 replies and nearly 1600 views on Tippex!
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#27 Posted : 20 April 2007 16:19:00(UTC)
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Posted By Bob Shillabeer Yes Mike, Its supprising how simple things catch the eye. How much of this stauff are tese people using anayway? What a company it worries about tipex so everything else must be superbly managed. No need for a H&S professional then.
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