Key Points

Fire

• Extremely flammable
• Arsine and stibine react with strong oxidants. Stibine reacts with chlorine and concentrated nitric acid
• Arsine emits toxic fumes of arsenic when heated to decomposition
• In the event of a fire involving arsine or stibine, use fine water spray and liquid and gas tight chemical protective clothing with breathing apparatus

Health

• Toxic by inhalation
• Arsine is very toxic, stibine is harmful
• The health effects of arsine and stibine are similar and are characterised by damage to the red blood cells (haemolysis)
• The onset of symptoms following short-term exposure may be delayed for several hours
• Short-term inhalation of arsine or stibine may cause weakness, headache, drowsiness, sickness, anaemia, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, yellow skin and eyes and red urine
• The effect of long-term exposure is thought to cause similar symptoms as short-term exposure
• Arsine is not thought to cause damage to the unborn child

Environment

• Dangerous for the environment
• Inform Environment Agency of substantial incidents

 

All sections are available to download in PDF format below:  

• Arsine and Stibine - Full Document (PDF, 160 KB)
• General Information (PDF, 46 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 70 KB)
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 75 KB)