cement

Move the person to fresh air. Dust in throat and nasal passages should clear spontaneously.

Symptoms: irritation persists or later develops or if discomfort, coughing or other symptoms persist. Repeated inhalation of dust of Common cements over a long period of time increases the risk of developing lung diseases.

For dry cement, remove and rinse abundantly with water. For wet cement, wash skin with plenty of water. Remove contaminated clothing, footwear, watches, etc. and clean thoroughly before re-using them.

Symptoms: irritating effect on moist skin (due to sweat or humidity) after prolonged contact or may cause contact dermatitis after repeated contact. Prolonged skin contact with wet cement or wet concrete may cause serious burns because they develop without pain being felt.

Do not rub eyes in order to avoid possible cornea damage as a result of mechanical stress. Remove contact lenses if any. Incline head to injured eye, open the eyelid(s) widely and flush eye(s) immediately by thoroughly rinsing with plenty of clean water for at least 20 minutes to remove all particles. Avoid flushing particles into uninjured eye. If possible, use isotonic water (0.9% NaCl).

Symptoms: serious and potentially irreversible injuries.

Do not induce vomiting. If the person is conscious, wash out mouth with water and give plenty of water to drink.

Cements are non-combustible and non-explosive and will not facilitate or sustain the combustion of other materials.

Cement poses no fire-related hazards.

Emergency procedures are not required.

Do not wash cement down sewage and drainage systems or into bodies of water (e.g. streams).

Collect the spillage in a dry state if possible. Use cleanup methods such as vacuum clean-up or vacuum extraction. Alternatively, wipe-up the dust by mopping, wet brushing or by using water sprays or hoses (fine mist to avoid that the dust becomes airborne) and remove slurry. If not possible, remove by slurrying with water. When wet cleaning or vacuum cleaning is not possible and only dry cleaning with brushes can be done. Clean up wet cement and place in a container.

Materials: water sprays or hoses

Follow the recommendations as given under Section 8. To clean up dry cement, see Sub section 6.3. Do not sweep. Use dry cleanup methods such as vacuum clean-up or vacuum extraction, which do not cause airborne dispersion. Do not handle or store near food and beverages or smoking materials. A Good Practices Guide containing advice on safe handling of the product is available at http://www.nepsi.eu/agreement-good-practice-guide/good-practice-guide.

Bulk cement should be stored in silos that are waterproof, dry (i.e. with internal condensation minimised), clean and protected from contamination. Engulfment hazard: To prevent engulfment or suffocation, do not enter a confined space, such as a silo, bin, bulk truck, or other storage container or vessel that stores or contains cement without taking the proper security measures. Cement can build-up or adhere to the walls of a confined space. The cement can release, collapse or fall unexpectedly. Packed products should be stored in unopened bags clear of the ground in cool, dry conditions and protected from excessive draught in order to avoid degradation of quality. Bags should be stacked in a stable manner.

Do not handle or store near food and beverages or smoking materials.

Not applicable.

Measures to reduce generation of dust and to avoid dust propagating in the environment such as dedusting, exhaust ventilation and dry clean-up methods which do not cause airborne dispersion. Specific measures include generic local exhaust ventilation and general ventilation, with varying efficiencies depending on the use and PROC.

Use watertight, wear, and alkali resistant protective gloves (e.g. nitrile soaked cotton gloves with CE marking) internally lined with cotton. Nitrile impregnated cotton gloves (layer thickness of c. 0.15 mm) provide sufficient protection over a period of 480 minutes, subject to normal wear and tear. Always change damaged or soaked gloves immediately and have spare gloves in ready supply.

Wear approved glasses or safety goggles according to EN 166 when handling dry or wet cement to prevent contact with eyes.

When a person is potentially exposed to dust levels above exposure limits, use appropriate respiratory protection. The type of respiratory protection should be adapted to the dust level and conform to the relevant EN standard (e.g., EN 149) or national standard. Specific types include FFP1, FFP2, and FFP3 masks with assigned protection factors (APF) of 4, 10, and 20 respectively, depending on the use and PROC. The duration of work should reflect the additional physiological stress due to RPE, and workers should be healthy with suitable facial characteristics.

Body protection requirements include watertight, wear, and alkali resistant protective gloves (e.g. nitrile soaked cotton gloves with CE marking) internally lined with cotton, boots, closed long-sleeved protective clothing as well as skin care products (e.g. barrier creams) to protect the skin from prolonged contact with wet cement. Particular care should be taken to ensure that wet cement does not enter the boots. In some circumstances, such as when laying concrete or screed, waterproof trousers or kneepads are necessary.

Air: Environmental exposure control for the emission of cement particles into air has to be in accordance with the available technology and regulations for the emission of general dust particles. Water: Do not wash cement into sewage systems or into bodies of water, to avoid high pH. Above pH 9 negative ecotoxicological impacts are possible. Soil and terrestrial environment: No special emission control measures are necessary for the exposure to the terrestrial environment. For further information, refer to Section 6 on ‘Accidental release measures’.

Dry cements are stable as long as they are properly stored (see Section 7) and compatible with most other building materials. They should be kept dry. Contact with incompatible materials should be avoided. Wet cement is alkaline and incompatible with acids, with ammonium salts, with aluminium or other non-noble metals. Cement dissolves in hydrofluoric acid to produce corrosive silicon tetrafluoride gas. Cement reacts with water to form silicates and calcium hydroxide. Silicates in cement react with powerful oxidizers such as fluorine, boron trifluoride, chlorine trifluoride, managanese trifluoride, and oxygen difluoride.

When mixed with water, cements will harden into a stable mass that is not reactive in normal environments.

Cements do not cause hazardous reactions.

Humid conditions during storage may cause lump formation and loss of product quality.

Acids, ammonium salts, aluminium or other non-noble metals. Uncontrolled use of aluminium powder in wet cement should be avoided as hydrogen is produced.

Cements will not decompose into any hazardous products.