Furfural or furfuryl alcohol
Furfural has CAS number 98-01-1; furfuryl alcohol is a different substance. They may occur in related production chains, but methods, hazards and equipment should not be confused. Identify supplied formulations and intermediate streams. Assessment should explain which compound is handled at each stage, particularly where abbreviated or trade names make the actual composition difficult for workers and assessors to recognise.
Uses change exposure patterns
INRS describes oil extraction and purification, resin manufacture and synthesis of other furan compounds. Contained extraction differs from manually charging a product or removing waste. Record where the system is opened, whether heating occurs and how samples are collected. Intermittent activities may explain contacts missing from a broad production description, and should not disappear within an average picture of routine operation.
Skin contributes to uptake
Furfural can be absorbed through skin and cause eye and respiratory irritation. Repeated contact damages the skin barrier. Combine dermal-exposure assessment with inhalation assessment: observing hands, clothing and surfaces provides information different from an air sample. Glove selection needs compatibility with the product and conditions, rather than only the absence of visible tears or a general chemical-protection label.
Longer-term hazards
INRS includes suspected carcinogenicity for furfural. This should not be omitted during substitution assessment or control selection because immediate discomfort is absent. Classification does not quantify an individual disease probability. Separate hazard identification, exposure conditions and professional health follow-up, without automatically assigning every symptom in a worker handling complex mixtures to furfural or using symptoms as the primary exposure-control criterion.
Heat, reaction and materials
Release changes with process conditions, including temperature. Furfural can react with oxidisers and polymerise under incompatible conditions; it also affects certain materials. Solvent recovery and formulation changes require a specific technical review. Do not extrapolate apparent stability in a container to a concentration operation or an unassessed mixture, where the combination of conditions can create a substantially different chemical hazard.
Assessment that supports decisions
Agree selective measurements answering relevant task and exposure-route questions, with possible mixture interference identified. If a connection is modified or sampling enclosed, verify that drips and cleaning contact also decrease. Document product, temperature and working method. Use current criteria for the country of work, avoiding conversion of experimental data or historical values into general safety guarantees for every operation involving the substance.
