Key Points

Fire

• Non flammable under normal conditions
• Emits toxic fumes when heated to decomposition
• In the event of a fire involving arsenic, use fine water spray and liquid-tight protective clothing with breathing apparatus

Health

• Toxic by ingestion, inhalation and skin absorption
• Corrosive
• Short-term inhalation may cause cough, sore throat, breathlessness and wheezing
• Short-term ingestion causes sickness, diarrhoea and abdominal pain
• Inorganic arsenic is irritant to the eye and skin
• Following long-term ingestion the lungs, nervous system, liver, kidneys or stomach may be affected
• Long-term inhalation may cause inflammation of the eyes and nose
• Inorganic arsenic compounds have mutagenic potential
• Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen

Environment

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

 

All sections are available to download in PDF format.

• Arsenic - Full Document (PDF, 212 KB)
  HPA Compendium of Chemical Hazards Inorganic Arsenic, version 4, 2011. This document will be reviewed not later than 3 years or sooner if substantive evidence becomes available.
  Added/updated: 13 January 2012
  
• General Information (PDF, 71 KB)
  Inorganic Arsenic General information, version 2, 2007
  Added/updated: 15 March 2011
  
• Incident Management (PDF, 118 KB)
  Inorganic Arsenic - Incident management, v4, 2011
  Added/updated: 13 January 2012
  
• Toxicological Overview (PDF, 73 KB)
  Inorganic Arsenic - Toxicological overview, version 2, 2007
  Added/updated: 15 March 2011