According to information available from the Maryland Occupational Safety and Health office within the Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation (Baltimore, MD, USA), two customers from the Tidewater Agricultural Research & Extension Center (Suffolk, VA, USA) inhaled fallout (SP-2300/SP-2310 on Chromasorb) following an unexpected eruption of column packing material from the injector side of a Shimadzu GC-14 gas chromatograph in December 1995. Following exposure, one of the customers complained about a burning sensation on the face and a tightness in the chest. After a brief search, it became apparent that Shimadzu Scientific Instruments had not shipped any MSDS information to accompany the GC columns ordered by the customer. Thereupon, the Shimadzu field employee on-site called the company's headquarters in Columbia, Maryland. Mr. Steve Cubbedge from Shimadzu apparently commented: "1) the main ingredient in the column packing material was diatomaceous earth (i.e. dirt), and 2) that he didn't see a problem" even though the Shimadzu field employee remarked that "symptoms were being voiced." Next, the Shimadzu field employee (who was also exposed) contacted Supelco, Inc. directly following an unsuccessful attempt by Shimadzu personnel to locate a copy of the relevant MSDS sheets in-house. Following the faxing of the pertinent MSDS information from Supelco to the customer site, the Shimadzu field employee transported the two customers to the OBICI hospital emergency room in the City of Suffolk where doctors warned that "the acute effects of exposure could include symptoms characteristic of cyanide poisoning."

Information from the Material Safety Data Sheet reveals that the GC column packing material involved contained a mixture of ingredients, one of which is classified by IARC as a probable human (Class 2A) carcinogen.

Have you ordered GC columns that were packed by Shimadzu?
Was the relevant MSDS information included with the packed columns?
Are you a Shimadzu employee who worked unknowingly with hazardous materials?
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