Health Hazard
Contact with moisture in the body by inhalation may yield sodium hydroxide (corrosive) and 2-mercaptabenzothiazole, an irritant. Contact with the eyes caused opacity or ulceration of the cornea, inflammation of the iris, redness and swelling of the conjunctiva and partial eversion of the eye lids, and destruction or irreversible tissue change in 24 hours or less (rabbit). A dose of 2,500 mg/kg applied to the skin caused severe depression, cold extremities, appetite loss; 4 of 10 died. Exposure of the skin to 1,250 mg/kg caused a severe degree of skin injury. The skin was burned in 24 hours with formation of hard eschar at 1-2 weeks; 1 of 10 rabbits died. Ingestion caused tremors, convulsions, severe depression and hemaluria in male rats. Ingestion of 312.5 mg/kg: 1 of 5 male rats die on day 2; 625 mg/kg: 2 of 5 died within 3-5 minutes; 1,250 mg/kg: 3 of 5 died within 3-5 minutes; 2,500 mg/kg: 100% mortality within 3-5 minutes. Hemorrhage of the stomach occurred in all rats that died.
