Mercuric benzoate

· CALL 911. Then call emergency response telephone number on shipping paper. If shipping paper not available or no answer, refer to appropriate telephone number listed on the inside back cover.

· ELIMINATE all ignition sources (no smoking, flares, sparks or flames) from immediate area.

Excerpt from ERG Guide 154 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible)]:

General First Aid:

If material involved in fire: Extinguish fire using agent suitable for type of surrounding fire. (Material itself does not burn or burns with difficulty.) Use water in flooding quantities as fog. Use "alcohol" foam, dry chemical or carbon dioxide.

Personnel protection: ... Wear positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus when fighting fires involving this material.

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.

If material not involved in fire: Keep material out of water sources and sewers.

Personnel protection: Avoid breathing dusts, and fumes from burning material. Keep upwind. Avoid bodily contact with the material. ... Do not handle broken packages unless wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. Wash away any material which may have contacted the body with copious amounts of water or soap and water. ... If contact with the material anticipated, wear appropriate chemical protective clothing.

SRP: Contaminated protective clothing should be segregated in such a manner so that there is no direct personal contact by personnel who handle, dispose, or clean the clothing. Quality assurance to ascertain the completeness of the cleaning procedures should be implemented before the decontaminated protective clothing is returned for reuse by the workers.

Excerpt from ERG Guide 154 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible)]:

Immediate precautionary measure

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)

The time course of dipeptidase activity and the effect of The time course of dipeptidase activity and the effect of p-mercuribenzoate (PCMB) on the subestimation of the fluorometric determination of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE, EC 3.4.15.1) during development was studied. ACE and dipeptidase activities were measured fluorometrically in homogenates of the developing chick retina using Hip-His-Leu and His-Leu as substrates, respectively, both either in the presence or in the absence of 1 mM p-mercuribenzoate. ACE activity was inhibited by captopril (IC50 1.7 nM), MK 422 (IC50 4.8 nM), BPP9a (IC50 0.25 muM) and BPP5a (IC50 1.2 muM), thus suggesting that avian retinal ACE catalytically resembles the mammalian enzyme. Dipeptidase activity varied 3.4-fold throughout development, leading to a large and variable (28-83%) subestimation of ACE activity during chick retina ontogenesis. p-Mercuribenzoate (1 mM) inhibited 67-94% dipeptidase activity during development, thus greatly reducing any subestimation of ACE activity determination during the development of the chick retina.

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/

Listed as a hazardous air pollutant (HAP) generally known or suspected to cause serious health problems. The Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, directs EPA to set standards requiring major sources to sharply reduce routine emissions of toxic pollutants. EPA is required to establish and phase in specific performance based standards for all air emission sources that emit one or more of the listed pollutants. Mercuric benzoate is included on this list.