Key Points

Fire

• Non flammable under normal conditions
• Highly reactive
• Releases toxic and irritating fumes when heated to decomposition
• Do not use water on fuming acid
• Use fine water spray and liquid-tight chemical protective suits with breathing apparatus
• Gas-tight protective suits with breathing apparatus required for fuming acid

Health

• Exposure may occur following ingestion, inhalation, skin or eye exposure
• Corrosive
• Short-term inhalation may result in irritation of eyes and nose with sore throat, cough, chest tightness, headache and confusion
• Short-term ingestion results in burns to the mouth and throat
• Short-term skin exposure can result in irritation, swelling or burns
• Short-term eye exposure may cause swelling, watering and sensitivity to light
• Long-term inhalation leads to inflammation of the lungs and dental decay
• Sulphuric acid mists are carcinogenic to humans. Sulphuric acid or sulphuric acid solutions are not considered to be carcinogenic
• Sulphuric acid is not considered to be a developmental toxin

Environment

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

All sections are available to download in PDF format.

 

• Sulphuric acid - Full Document (PDF, 205 KB)
  HPA Compendium of Chemical Hazards Sulphuric acid, version 3, 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 - Sulphuric acid (PDF, 55 KB)
  Sulphuric acid General information, version 2, 2007.
  Added/updated: 30 March 2011
  
• Incident Management - Sulphuric acid (PDF, 138 KB)
  Sulphuric acid Incident management, version 3, 2011. This document will be reviewed not later than 3 years or sooner if substantive evidence becomes available.
  Added/updated: 13 January 2012
  
• Toxicological Overview - Sulphuric acid (PDF, 38 KB)
  Sulphuric acid Toxicological overview, version 2, 2007.
  Added/updated: 30 March 2011