Vinyl Chloride

Key Points

Fire

• Flammable
• Reactive under light, contact with air, oxidising agents or metals
• Emits toxic vapours of hydrogen chloride and phosgene when heated to decomposition
• In the event of a fire involving vinyl chloride, use fine water spray and normal fire kit with breathing apparatus
  

Health

• Toxic by all routes of exposure - inhalation, ingestion, skin contact
• Carcinogenic in humans
• Inhalation of vinyl chloride causes coughing, wheezing and breathlessness, headache, ataxia, drowsiness and coma
• Ingestion of vinyl chloride causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and haematemesis may occur.
• Skin contact causes irritation, pain, burns and contact dermatitis. Rapid evaporation of compressed gas may produce local frostbite.
• Ocular exposure to the gas causes moderate irritation and pain. Exposure to liquid may possibly cause frostbite and corneal injury.

Environment

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

All sections are available to download in PDF format below:

• Vinyl Chloride - Full Document (PDF, 143 KB)
• General Information (PDF, 31 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 93 KB)
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 112 KB)