Bromine

Key Points

Fire

• Non flammable
• Vaporises rapidly at room temperature. Reacts violently with reducing agents, metals, ammonia, alcohols and organic materials causing fire and explosion hazard.
• Emits toxic and corrosive fumes when heated to decomposition.
• In the event of a fire involving bromine, use fine water spray and liquid tight fire kit with breathing apparatus

Health

• Toxic by all routes of exposure
• Very toxic and corrosive
• Inhalation may cause irritation of respiratory tract, cough, chest tightness, headache, lack of coordination, confusion and delayed wheeze and fluid accumulation in the lungs. 
• Ingestion causes immediate burning of the mouth and throat, drooling, difficulty swallowing, abdominal pain and heart and circulation problems.
• Skin exposure may cause burns. 
• Eye exposure may result in irritation, tearing, pain, involuntary muscle contraction around the eyes and sensitivity to light.

Environment

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

All sections of the compendia are available to download:

• Bromine - Full Document (PDF, 116 KB)
• General Information (PDF, 37 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 108 KB)
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 47 KB)