Posted By Jane Blunt Dear Maggie I note that no one has responded to your message. I have held back as well, because I do not recognise the substance/preparation name that you give. Can you check that it is correct? If it is a proprietary mixture, can you give us some idea of what is in it? I'm afraid I know nothing about your industry, so cannot make an educated guess. Regards Jane

Posted By Neil Budworth Dear Maggie, You need to look up Octane - It is quite common to drop the E at the end of chemical names (especially in Germany. You could try looking at one of the MSDS sites listed on this site, but beware the description you get s quite likely to be scary. To really understand the likely effects you need to know the likely atmospheric level and how that relates to a standard. I don't believe Octane is specifically listed in the UK limits (EH40/00) as it will be listed as a general hydrocarbon, however if you can get hold of a copy of the manufacturers datasheet then they will be identify a suitable exposure limit. The bottom line is that long term high level exposures will have a detrimental effect, but if you re exposed to levels below the Occupational Exposure Standard the majority of the population should not exhibit a long term health effect. I hop ethat this helps. Best Regards Neil