(Acetato-kappaO)(2-methoxyethyl)mercury

This is an alkyl mercury pesticide. Keep unnecessary people away; isolate hazard area and deny entry. Stay upwind; keep out of low areas. Ventilate closed spaces before entering them. Wear positive pressure breathing apparatus and special protective clothing. Remove and isolate contaminated clothing at the site. If water pollution occurs, notify appropriate authorites.

SRP: At the time of review, criteria for land treatment or burial (sanitary landfill) disposal practices are subject to significant revision. Prior to implementing land disposal of waste residue (including waste sludge), consult with environmental regulatory agencies for guidance on acceptable disposal practices.

0.01 [mg/m3], as Hg

0.03 [mg/m3], as Hg

8 hr Time Weighted Avg (TWA): 0.01 mg/cu m, 15 min Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) 0.03 mg/cu m. Skin. /Mercury, alkyl compounds, as Hg/

0.0037 [ppm]

0.25 [ppm]

0.50 [ppm]

For emergency situations, wear a positive pressure, pressure-demand, full facepiece self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or pressure- demand supplied air respirator with escape SCBA and a fully-encapsulating, chemical resistant suit. (EPA, 1998)

Wear rubber gloves, respirators, filter & goggles.

2.0 [mg/m3], as Hg

2 mg/cu m (as Hg) /Mercury (organo) alkyl compounds (as Hg)/

Mercury mainly affects the nervous system. Exposure to high levels of metallic, inorganic, or organic mercury can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. Effects on brain functioning may result in irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems. Acrodynia, a type of mercury poisoning in children, is characterized by pain and pink discoloration of the hands and feet. Mercury poisoning can also cause Hunter-Russell syndrome and Minamata disease. (L7)

High-affinity binding of the divalent mercuric ion to thiol or sulfhydryl groups of proteins is believed to be the major mechanism for the activity of mercury. Through alterations in intracellular thiol status, mercury can promote oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and changes in heme metabolism. Mercury is known to bind to microsomal and mitochondrial enzymes, resulting in cell injury and death. For example, mercury is known to inhibit aquaporins, halting water flow across the cell membrane. It also inhibits the protein LCK, which causes decreased T-cell signalling and immune system depression. Mercury is also believed to inhibit neuronal excitability by acting on the postsynaptic neuronal membrane. It also affects the nervous system by inhibiting protein kinase C and alkaline phosphatase, which impairs brain microvascular formation and function, as well as alters the blood-brain barrier. Organic mercury exerts developmental effects by binding to tubulin, preventing microtubule assembly and causing mitotic inhibition. Mercury also produces an autoimmune response, likely by modification of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules, self peptides, T-cell receptors, or cell-surface adhesion molecules. (L7, A8, A25, A26)

Methoxyethyl mercuric acetate has been found very toxic to rabbit retina in tissue culture, at concn of 5X10-6 molar causing general destruction of the cells in 4 hours.

The /methoxyethylmercuric/ acetate & presumably the /methoxyethylmercuric/ chloride are vesicants when applied to the skin in high concn. ... The signs & symptoms of systemic poisoning are believed to resemble those induced by mercuric chloride.

In the carp hepatopancreas the effect of feeding with the added 27 ppm methoxyethylmercuric acetate was investigated. The fishes were sacrificed on the experimental days 7, 14, and 21, and the analysis of the hepatopancreas related to the histochemical activity of non-specific esterases, alkaline and acid phosphatase, lactic acid dehydrogenase, and NADH2 diaphorase. The activity of non-specific esterases decreased on the 14th experimental day and remained on the same level up to the end of the experiment. A decrease of the activity of alkaline phosphatase was not observed until the 21st experimental day, whereas the activity of acid phosphatase went up on the 7th and 14th experimental days, and on the 21st day it resembled that observed in the control group. In the experimental group the activity of glucose-6-phosphatase went down on the 7th day and the activity of lactic acid dehydrogenase on the 14th experimental day. The activity of NADH2-diaphorase did not significantly change in relation to the values in the control group throughout the entire experiment.

The purpose of this work was to study possible hematological changes in carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) which might be induced by the experimental poisoning with metoxyethylmercury acetate which is used as fungicide. The experimental group of fishes was exposed to the named substance which was mixed with the feed during three weeks. The total lymphocytes number decreased in experimental group already at 7th day (p < 0.01), and remained almost at the same level, but considerably lower than the experimental group, until the end of the experiment. The number of small lymphocytes in the experimental group decreased also at the 7th day of the experiment (p < 0.01), and the decreasing tendency continued up to the end of the experiment. The number of large lymphocytes increased at the day 7th of the experiment (p < 0.01), and the increasing tendency continued until the end of the experiment. The population of large lymphocytes showed the cytopathological changes in the form of cytoplasmic vacuoles and cytoplasmic shoots. The frequency of these changes increased through the experiments.

D009; A solid waste containing mercury may or may not become characterized as a hazardous waste when subjected to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure listed in 40 CFR 261.24, and if so characterized, must be managed as a hazardous waste. /Mercury/

Releases of CERCLA hazardous substances are subject to the release reporting requirement of CERCLA section 103, codified at 40 CFR part 302, in addition to the requirements of 40 CFR part 355. Methoxyethylmercuric acetate is an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) subject to reporting requirements when stored in amounts in excess of its threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of 500/10,000 lbs.