Oxygen difluoride

Synonyms

Difluorine monoxide; Difluorure d'oxygene [French]; Difluoruro de oxigeno [Spanish]; Fluorine (di-)oxide; Fluorine monoxide; Fluorine oxide; Oxydifluoride; Oxygen fluoride (OF2); [ChemIDplus] UN2190

Category

Oxidizers

Description

Colorless gas with a peculiar, foul odor. [Note: Shipped as a nonliquefied compressed gas.]; [NIOSH]

Sources/Uses

Used as an oxidizer for rocket fuels; [ACGIH]

Comments

Animals exposed to concentrations above 0.5 ppm experience pulmonary edema and hemorrhage. Laboratory workers developed severe headaches after exposures to parts-per-billion levels. [ACGIH] Causes lachrymation; [ICSC] Contact with gas or liquefied gas may cause burns or frostbite; [CAMEO] Fluoride levels should be monitored in chronically exposed workers. [HSDB] A corrosive substance that can cause pulmonary edema; [ICSC] See "FLUORIDES."

Biomedical References

Insufficient data

Yes

0.05 ppm

0.05 ppm

Excerpts from Documentation for IDLHs

Human data: Oxygen difluoride is a strong irritant to the entire respiratory tract and causes pulmonary edema and hemorrhage when inhaled for a few hours at 0.5 ppm [Deichmann and Gerarde 1969].

0.09 ppm

LC50 (rat) = 2.6 ppm/1H

Explanatory Notes

Odor threshold from AIHA;

Reference Link #2

Yes

Yes

Skin burns

Diseases

Occupational diseases associated with exposure to this agent:

• Pneumonitis, toxic