Phosphorus trichloride

Synonyms

Fosforo(tricloruro di) [Italian]; Fosfortrichloride [Dutch]; Phosphine, trichloro-; Phosphore(trichlorure de) [French]; Phosphorous chloride; Phosphorous trichloride; Phosphortrichlorid [German]; Phosphorus chloride (Cl6P2); Phosphorus chloride (PCl3); Trichlorophosphine; Trojchlorek fosforu [Polish; [ChemIDplus] UN1809

Category

Other Toxic Gases & Vapors

Description

Colorless to yellow, fuming liquid with an odor like hydrochloric acid; [NIOSH]

Sources/Uses

Used to produce pesticides, gasoline additives, plasticizers, dyes, and textile-finishing agents; also used as a chlorine donor and catalyst in chemical reactions; [ACGIH]

Comments

Liquid causes second or third degree burns after short contact; [CHRIS] Highly corrosive to skin; [Quick CPC] Rats develop nephrosis and pulmonary edema after 4 hour exposures in the range of 100 ppm; 23 workers exposed to 1.8 to 27 ppm complained of eye and throat irritation; mild bronchitis was common and irritant asthma developed in some of the workers; [ACGIH] Toxic to the liver in a chronic study of animals; [Desai, H. Phosphorus and Phosphorus Compounds. In: Sullivan J, Krieger G (eds).Hazardous Materials Toxicology.Baltimore:Williams & Wilkins,1992;939] A corrosive substance that can cause pulmonary edema; [ICSC] A lachrymator; [CHEMINFO]

Biomedical References

Insufficient data

Yes

0.2 ppm

Yes

0.5 ppm

0.5 ppm

0.1 ppm

25 ppm

Excerpts from Documentation for IDLHs

Other animal data: Cats and guinea pigs exposed for 6 hours at 0.7 ppm showed only mild signs of intoxication and a 1­hour exposure at 2 to 4 ppm failed to produce severe signs of poisoning; however, a single 1­hour exposure at 50 to 90 ppm resulted in serious disturbances [Butjagin 1904]. . . . Human data: Workers exposed to concentrations ranging from 1.8 to 27 ppm had symptoms that included burning of the eyes and throat, irritation of the pharyngeal mucous membranes, and mild bronchitis within 2 to 6 hours after exposure [Sassi 1952].

120 mm Hg

LC50 (rat) = 104 ppm/4 hr

Explanatory Notes

Some “Water Reactive Materials” are also TIH materials themselves: Phosphorus trichloride; [ERG 2016] VP from HSDB;

will not burn

0.5 ppm

3 ppm

15 ppm

Yes

Yes

Hepatoxic (a) from occupational exposure (secondary effect) or (b) in animal studies or in humans after ingestion

Yes

Skin burns

Diseases

Occupational diseases associated with exposure to this agent:

• Pneumonitis, toxic

Processes

Industrial Processes with risk of exposure:

• Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Textiles (Printing, Dyeing, or Finishing)
• Toxic Gas from Spilling Chemical in Water