Key Points

Fire

• Extremely flammable
• Reactions with air, heat and open flames are explosive. Reacts violently with oxidants, fluorine and chlorine.
• Decomposes on heating causing fire and explosion hazard. Emits hydrogen gas, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide when heated to decomposition.
• In the event of a fire involving acetylene, use fine water spray and normal fire kit with breathing apparatus

Health

• Toxic by inhalation
• CHIP classification: extremely flammable
• Inhalation may cause excitement, slurred speech, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and headache 
• Exposure to high concentrations can lead to difficulty breathing, high blood pressure, fits and abnormal heart rhythms

Environment

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

 

All sections of the compendia are available to download:

• Acetylene - Full Document (PDF, 89 KB)
• General Information (PDF, 43 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 86 KB)
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 29 KB)