Fall 2003
Updated: 19 November 2003
Your name:
1. Use the EPA Substance Registry System to find the entry for MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone).
[1] Use the entry in the SRS to lead you to the NIOSH International Chemical Safety Card for the substance. [2] Obtain a printout of the card to hand in with this assignment.[3] What is the flash point for MEK.
2. Find a brief definition for "flash point" and write it down.
[4] flash point -
[5] List the title, year of publication, and page (or URL) of the work in which you found the definition.
3. Use the CCINFOWEB to find an MSDS for MEK that is produced by Caledon Laboratories Ltd.
[6] Obtain a printout to be handed in with your homework. [Note that the CCINFOWEB service is not a free Internet service. IU pays for access to it.]
4. There have been reports of hazardous chemical reactions occurring where a mixture of 2-Butanone and 2-Propanol was involved.
[7] How could an old sample of the secondary alcohol (or the mixture) be treated to lessen that possibility?
[8] What reference tool did you use to answer this question? (Title, edition, and year of publication or URL)
5. Use the Beilstein CrossFireplusReactions database to find a journal article that indicates the potential for MEK to cause narcosis in frog tadpoles.
[9] Copy down the full reference to the article. (DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PRINT OUT THIS RECORD.)
6. Use SciFinder Scholar to find the Regulated Chemicals Listings for MEK. Look at the detailed listing, but do not print it out.
[10] What is the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for MEK?
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists sets Threshold Limit Values for exposure to chemical substances.
[11] What are the values listed by the ACGIH for TWA and STEL for MEK?
[12] What do the acronyms TWA and STEL mean in this context?