Chemical Education Today
CLIP, Chemical Laboratory Information Profile “Only when you know the hazards, can you take the necessary precautionary measures.”
Arsenic(III) Chloride
AsCl3
CAS No.: 7784-34-1
Synonyms: Arsenic trichloride, arsenous chloride, butter of arsenic
Physical Properties Colorless, viscous liquid with Vapor pressure at 20 °C: Melting point: Boiling point:
Exposure Limits
a pungent odor 10 torr ᎑16 °C 130 °C
10 g/m3 (as As) 5 g/m3 (as As) 0.01 mg/m3 (as As)
OSHA PEL: Action level ACGIH TLV:
Hazardous Characteristics Overall toxicity 4
Flammability 0
Destructive to skin/eye 3
Absorbed through skin? Yes
Sensitizer? Yes
Selfreactive? No
Incompatible with: Powdered aluminum, bases, strong oxidizing agents, air*
0: None (or very low); 1: Slight; 2: Moderate; 3: High; 4: Severe. *Reactivity Hazards
Powdered aluminum ignites spontaneously in the presence of arsenic(III) chloride vapor. Arsenic(III) chloride reacts violently with bases and with strong oxidizing agents. When exposed to air, arsenic(III) chloride produces toxic, corrosive fumes of HCl. See Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards for details and for other incompatibilities. Cited as known to be or reasonably anticipated to be carcinogenic in NTP-11?
Identified as a reproductive toxin in Frazier and Hage, Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace? Possibly
Yes
Typical symptoms of acute exposures:
If inhaled, sore throat, coughing, abdominal spasm, vomiting, diarrhea, lung edema. In the eyes, pain, blurred vision. On the skin, inflammation, serious skin burns, death. If ingested, sore throat, abdominal spasm, vomiting, diarrhea. Principal target organ(s) or system(s):
Respiratory tract, eyes, skin, liver, kidney.
Storage Requirements Store with other poisons in a well-sealed container, shielded from light and separated from bases and from oxidizing agents in a cool, dry, well-ventilated, locked location.
Additional Remarks In all cases of over exposure, call a physician immediately. At ordinary temperatures, the vapor pressure of arsenic(III) chloride is approximately 9 ⫻ 107 g/m3 and therefore greatly exceeds the limits established by OSHA and ACGIH. Accordingly, users will be likely to be over exposed to the vapors of this compound unless appropriate precautions are rigidly maintained; see the MSDS for details. Symptoms of lung edema are not manifest immediately in victims who have inhaled arsenic(III) chloride vapors; some hours may elapse first; physical effort can exaggerate these symptoms. Rest is essential for persons exposed to excess vapor or mist.
Notes ReadMe
This Chemical Laboratory Information Profile is not a Material Safety Data Sheet. It is a brief summary for teachers and their students that describes some of the hazards of this chemical as it is typically used in laboratories. On the basis of your knowledge of these hazards and before using or handling this chemical, you need to select the precautions and first-aid procedures to be followed. For that information as well as for other useful information, refer to Material Safety Data Sheets, container labels, and references in the scientific literature that pertain to this chemical. Reproductive Toxins
Some substances that in fact are reproductive toxins are not yet recognized as such. For the best readily available and up-to-date information, refer to “DART/ETIC”. See the TOXNET home page at http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/. Note that some of the data in DART/ ETIC have not been peer-reviewed. See also Frazier, Linda M.; Hage, Marvin L. Reproductive Hazards of the Workplace; Wiley: New York, 1998; and Shepard, T. H. Catalog of Teratogenic Agents, 9th ed.; Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, MD, 1998. Abbreviations
ACGIH TLV—American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists–Threshold Limit Value. C—Ceiling. CAS—Chemical Abstracts Service. mg/m3—milligrams per cubic meter. NA—Not applicable. NE—Not established. NI—No information. NTP-11—National Toxicology Program, Eleventh Annual Report on Carcinogens. OSHA PEL—Occupational Safety and Health Administration–Permissible Exposure Limit. ppm—parts per million. STEL/C—Short-term exposure limit and ceiling. Action Level—see Title 29 Code of Federal Regulations, part 1910, section 1018. Prepared by: Jay A. Young
www.JCE.DivCHED.org
Date of preparation: December 14, 2004
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Vol. 83 No. 2 February 2006
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Journal of Chemical Education
207
