1.1 What is white phosphorus? |
1.2 What happens to white phosphorus when
it enters the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to white phosphorus? |
1.4 How can white phosphorus enter and
leave my body? |
1.5 How can white phosphorus affect my
health? |
1.6 Is there a medical test to determine
whether I have been exposed to white phosphorus? |
1.7 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.8 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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September 1997 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
White Phosphorus |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for white phosphorus. It is one in a series of
Public Health Statements about hazardous substances and their
health effects. A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,
is also available. This information is important because this
substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous
substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed,
personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are
present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information
Center at 1-888-422-8737.
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This statement was prepared to give you
information about white phosphorus and white phosphorus smoke
and to emphasize the human health effects that may result
from exposure to it. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites as in the
nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL)
and are the sites targeted for long-term federal clean-up
activities. White phosphorus has been found in at least 77
of 1,430 current or former NPL sites. However, the total number
of NPL sites evaluated is not known. As more sites are evaluated,
the number of sites at which white phosphorus is found may
increase. This is important because exposure to white phosphorus
may harm you and because these sites are sources of human
exposure to white phosphorus.
When a substance is released from a large
area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such
as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This release
does not always lead to exposure. You can be exposed to a
substance only when you come in contact with it. You may be
exposed by breathing, eating, or drinking substances containing
the substance or by skin contact with it.
If you are exposed to a substance such
as white phosphorus, many factors will determine whether harmful
health effects will occur and what the type and severity of
those health effects will be. These factors include the dose
(how much), the duration (how long), the route or pathway
by which you are exposed (breathing, eating, drinking, or
skin contact), the other chemicals to which you are exposed,
and your individual characteristics such as age, sex, nutritional
status, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1
What is white phosphorus? |
Pure white phosphorus is a colorless-to-white
waxy solid, but commercial white phosphorus is usually yellow.
Therefore, it is also known as yellow phosphorus. White phosphorus
is also called phosphorus tetramer and has a garlic-like smell.
In air, it catches fire at temperatures 10-15 degrees above
room temperature. Because of its high reactivity with oxygen
in air, white phosphorus is generally stored under water.
White phosphorus does not occur naturally. Industries produce
it from naturally occurring phosphate rocks.
White phosphorus is used mainly for producing
phosphoric acid and other chemicals. These chemicals are used
to make fertilizers, additives in foods and drinks, cleaning
compounds, and other products. Small amounts of white phosphorus
have been used as rat and roach poisons and in fireworks.
In the past, white phosphorus was used to make matches, but
another chemical with fewer harmful health effects has since
replaced it.
In the military, white phosphorus is
used in ammunitions such as mortar and artillery shells, and
grenades. When ammunitions containing white phosphorus are
fired in the field, they burn and produce smoke. The smoke
contains some unburnt phosphorus, but it mainly has various
burned phosphorus products. In military operations, such smoke
is used to conceal troop movements and to identify targets
or the locations of friendly forces. White phosphorus munitions
are intended to burn or firebomb the opponents, in other words,
to effectively produce widespread damage but not kill the
enemy.
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1.2
What happens to white phosphorus when it enters the environment? |
White phosphorus enters the environment
when industries make it or use it to make other chemicals
and when the military uses it as ammunition. It also enters
the environment from spills during storage and transport.
Because of the discharge of waste water, white phosphorus
is likely to be found in the water and bottom deposits of
rivers and lakes near facilities that make or use it. It may
also be found at sites where the military uses phosphorus-containing
ammunition during training exercises. Rainwater washout of
these sites may contaminate nearby waterways and their bottom
deposits. Hazardous waste sites that contain white phosphorus
are also potential sources of exposure to people. However,
because white phosphorus reacts very quickly with oxygen in
the air, it may not be found far away from sources of contamination.
The fate of white phosphorus smoke is
similar to the fate of reaction products of white phosphorus
vapor in air. White phosphorus vapor in air reacts with oxygen
and is changed to relatively harmless chemicals within minutes.
However, particles in the air may have a protective coating
that makes them unreactive for a longer time. White phosphorus
reacts mainly with oxygen in water and may stay in water for
hours to days. However, chunks of white phosphorus coated
with protective layers may stay in water and soil for years
if oxygen levels in the water and soil are very low.
In water with low oxygen, white phosphorus
may react with water to form a compound called phosphine.
Phosphine is a highly toxic gas and quickly moves from water
to air. Phosphine in air is changed to less harmful chemicals
in less than a day. In water, white phosphorus builds up slightly
in the bodies of fish. The other chemicals in white phosphorus
smoke are mainly changed to relatively harmless chemicals
in water and soil. White phosphorus may stay in soil for a
few days before it is changed to less harmful chemicals. However,
in deeper soil and the bottom deposits of rivers and lakes
where there is no oxygen, white phosphorus may remain for
several thousand years. White phosphorus binds moderately
to soil and typically doesn't move deep in soil with oxygen-depleted
rainwater.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to white phosphorus? |
You may be exposed to white phosphorus
by breathing in air that contains white phosphorus or by swallowing
water or food contaminated with it. White phosphorus has rarely
been found in air. Therefore, unless you are near military
facilities during training exercises that use white phosphorus
ammunition, exposure to it by breathing air will be insignificant.
White phosphorus has not been found in drinking water or any
food other than fish caught in contaminated water and game
birds from contaminated areas. The maximum level found was
207 milligrams of white phosphorus per kilogram (207 mg/kg)
in the muscle of channel catfish caught from the Yellow Lake
in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Some people are exposed to low levels
of white phosphorus by eating contaminated food. People who
work in industries that produce or use white phosphorus, people
who eat contaminated fish or game birds, and people who live
near phosphorus-containing waste sites may be exposed to white
phosphorus at higher levels than the rest of the population.
Other than exposure of certain workers at the Pine Bluff Arsenal
in Arkansas, very few studies exist that have information
on exposure to high levels of white phosphorus.
Most known cases of fatal or severe exposure
to white phosphorus resulted from adults or children accidentally
or deliberately swallowing rat poisons or fireworks or handling
munitions containing white phosphorus. Other known instances
of severe exposure of workers were a result of accidents in
white phosphorus loading plants. People, particularly those
in the military who use phosphorus-containing ammunitions,
may be exposed to white phosphorus smoke during warfare, training
exercises, and accidents.
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1.4
How can white phosphorus enter and leave my body? |
White phosphorus can enter your body
when you breathe air containing white phosphorus. We do not
know if white phosphorus in your lungs will enter the blood.
White phosphorus can also enter your body when you eat food
or drink water containing white phosphorus or when you are
burned by it. We do not know if white phosphorus can enter
your body through skin that has not been cut or burned. If
it enters your body when you eat, drink, or are burned, white
phosphorus enters the blood rapidly. We do not know if it
changes into other compounds in the blood. Most of the white
phosphorus that enters your body leaves in urine and feces
after several days. White phosphorus smoke can enter your
lungs when you breathe air containing it. When that happens,
we do not know if it will enter your blood or how it will
leave your body.
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1.5
How can white phosphorus affect my health? |
Breathing in white phosphorus can cause
you to cough or develop a condition known as phossy jaw that
involves poor wound healing in the mouth and a breakdown of
the jaw bone. Damage to the blood vessels of the mouth has
been observed in rats breathing air containing white phosphorus.
Most of what is known about the health effects of breathing
this compound is from studies of workers. Current levels of
white phosphorus in workplace air are much lower than in the
past. If you eat or drink a small amount of white phosphorus
(less than one teaspoon), you may vomit; have stomach cramps;
have liver, heart, or kidney damage; become extremely drowsy;
or die. Most of what is known about the health effects of
eating or drinking white phosphorus is from reports of people
eating rat poison or fireworks that contained it. White phosphorus
is no longer found in rat poison or fireworks. The levels
of it that you might be exposed to in food or water are much
lower than the levels that were in rat poison or fireworks.
We do not know if more serious health effects will occur in
people who eat or drink white phosphorus-containing substances
for a long time. If burning white phosphorus touches your
skin, it will burn you. If you are burned with white phosphorus,
you may also develop heart, liver, and kidney damage. We do
not know if it can cause cancer or birth defects, or if it
affects the ability of people to have children. Because of
the lack of cancer studies on animals or people, the EPA has
determined that white phosphorus is not classifiable as to
human carcinogenicity (that is, whether or not it causes cancer).
If you breathe white phosphorus smoke, you may damage your
lungs and throat. We do not know how white phosphorus smoke
can affect your health if it gets on your skin.
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1.6
Is there a medical test to determine whether I have been exposed
to white phosphorus? |
There are no medical tests to tell if
you have been exposed to white phosphorus or its smoke. However,
the health effects that can follow exposure may lead your
physician to suspect exposure.
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1.7
What recommendations has the federal government made to protect
human health? |
EPA requires industry to report spills
of white phosphorus of more than 1 pound. White phosphorus
levels in workplace air are regulated by the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and recommendations
for safe levels have been made by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference
of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). All three organizations
set the inhalation exposure limit for white phosphorus in
the workplace during an 8-hour workday at 0.1 milligram per
cubic meter of air (mg/m³).
There are no federal government recommendations for white
phosphorus smoke.
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1.8 Where can I get more information? |
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact
your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737
FAX: (770)-488-4178
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health
clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses
resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000
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References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 1997. Toxicological
profile for white phosphorus. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
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