Methanol

Key Points

Fire

• Flammable; burns with a non-luminous, bluish flame.
• May explode upon mixing with air
• In the event of a fire involving methanol, use alcohol resistant foam or fine water spray and liquid-tight chemical protective suit with breathing apparatus

Health

• Absorbed via ingestion, inhalation and skin exposure
• Toxic
• Short-term exposure may result in drowsiness, headache, confusion, sickness and abdominal pain, possibly within 30 minutes of exposure
• Coma, shock and kidney failure may occur following substantial exposures
• Short-term exposure may be irritating to the eyes, causing burning, stinging and watering
• Long-term effects may include blindness, and following more substantial exposures, permanent damage to the central nervous system may occur
• Long-term inhalation exposure to methanol may cause headaches and eye irritation
• Methanol is not thought to cause cancer in humans
• Methanol is not considered to affect human reproduction or cause damage to the unborn child

Environment

• Avoid release into the environment
• Inform the Environment Agency of substantial releases

All sections are available to download in PDF format below:

• Methanol - Full Document (PDF, 224 KB)
• General Information (PDF, 61 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 146 KB)
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 48 KB)

Background