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Diss Factsheets
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EC number: 231-639-5 | CAS number: 7664-93-9
- Life Cycle description
- Uses advised against
- Endpoint summary
- Appearance / physical state / colour
- Melting point / freezing point
- Boiling point
- Density
- Particle size distribution (Granulometry)
- Vapour pressure
- Partition coefficient
- Water solubility
- Solubility in organic solvents / fat solubility
- Surface tension
- Flash point
- Auto flammability
- Flammability
- Explosiveness
- Oxidising properties
- Oxidation reduction potential
- Stability in organic solvents and identity of relevant degradation products
- Storage stability and reactivity towards container material
- Stability: thermal, sunlight, metals
- pH
- Dissociation constant
- Viscosity
- Additional physico-chemical information
- Additional physico-chemical properties of nanomaterials
- Nanomaterial agglomeration / aggregation
- Nanomaterial crystalline phase
- Nanomaterial crystallite and grain size
- Nanomaterial aspect ratio / shape
- Nanomaterial specific surface area
- Nanomaterial Zeta potential
- Nanomaterial surface chemistry
- Nanomaterial dustiness
- Nanomaterial porosity
- Nanomaterial pour density
- Nanomaterial photocatalytic activity
- Nanomaterial radical formation potential
- Nanomaterial catalytic activity
- Endpoint summary
- Stability
- Biodegradation
- Bioaccumulation
- Transport and distribution
- Environmental data
- Additional information on environmental fate and behaviour
- Ecotoxicological Summary
- Aquatic toxicity
- Endpoint summary
- Short-term toxicity to fish
- Long-term toxicity to fish
- Short-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Long-term toxicity to aquatic invertebrates
- Toxicity to aquatic algae and cyanobacteria
- Toxicity to aquatic plants other than algae
- Toxicity to microorganisms
- Endocrine disrupter testing in aquatic vertebrates – in vivo
- Toxicity to other aquatic organisms
- Sediment toxicity
- Terrestrial toxicity
- Biological effects monitoring
- Biotransformation and kinetics
- Additional ecotoxological information
- Toxicological Summary
- Toxicokinetics, metabolism and distribution
- Acute Toxicity
- Irritation / corrosion
- Sensitisation
- Repeated dose toxicity
- Genetic toxicity
- Carcinogenicity
- Toxicity to reproduction
- Specific investigations
- Exposure related observations in humans
- Toxic effects on livestock and pets
- Additional toxicological data
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Endpoint summary
Administrative data
Description of key information
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Skin sensitisation
Endpoint conclusion
- Endpoint conclusion:
- no adverse effect observed (not sensitising)
- Additional information:
- Sulphuric acid has been in industrial use for many decades, and skin burns
resulting from accidental occupational dermal contact with concentrated
sulphuric acid are well documented. However, skin
sensitisation secondary to skin irritation or burns has never been
described, despite the fact that severe chemical irritation and burns are
known to create favourable conditions for the induction of contact
allergy: this strategy is, in fact, employed in routine skin sensitisation
testing protocols such as the Magnusson and Kligman maximisation test. Repeated
contact with more diluted sulphuric acid is known to cause skin
desiccation, ulceration and chronic purulent inflammation around the
fingernails, however these symptoms are quite different from those seen in
acute or chronic allergic dermatitis. Skin contact with
weak solutions of sulphuric acid (~10%) has been quite common in the
viscose rayon industry for nearly a century, however sulphuric acid
allergy has never been reported. Sulphate ions are
considered to be highly unlikely to cause allergy, since the body contains
large amounts of sulphate ions (~0.33 mmol/l in serum and about 50 times
higher concentration intracellularly). Various metal
sulphates (e.g. nickel sulphate, cobalt sulphate) are used in routine
allergy testing, but positive reactions are related to the metal ion, not
to the sulphate, as can be deduced from the definitely non-allergenic zinc
sulphate. Similarly, the hydrogen ion has no potential
to cause skin sensitisation, therefore protein binding and hapten
formation is considered to be highly unlikely.
Based on the information discussed above, it can be concluded that sulphuric acid has no potential to cause delayed contact hypersensitivity (skin sensitisation in humans) is not an allergen in humans.
Animal testing for sensitisation potential is not scientifically justifiable as it would not provide any information relevant for the human risk assessment and, additionally, testing with a corrosive substance is not required and cannot be justified on animal welfare grounds.
Migrated from Short description of key information:
No animal studies of skin sensitisation are available.
Respiratory sensitisation
Endpoint conclusion
- Endpoint conclusion:
- no adverse effect observed (not sensitising)
- Additional information:
Exposure of laboratory animals to sulphuric acid aerosols has been associated with non-specific airway hyper-responsivity, including bronchial constriction. However these effects do not have an immunological mechanism and therefore do not represent respiratory sensitisation.
Similar effects following the inhalation of sulphuric acid aerosols/mists have been seen in exposed humans and asthmatic subjects have proved to be more sensitive than non-asthmatics to effects including bronchoconstriction. It is thought that findings may be due to the lower pH of the respiratory mucus in asthmatics (pH 5.3 -7.6) compared to non-asthmatics (pH 7.4 -8.2). This has the consequence that the buffering capacity of respiratory mucus is lower and also that the mucus is more viscous, thus reducing the efficacy of mucociliary clearance. Asthmatic subjects (and also non-asthmatics with hyper-responsive airways) are therefore inherently more sensitive to the local effects of sulphuric acid (and other acid) inhalation on the respiratory tract, however the effects do not have an immunological basis and therefore do not represent respiratory sensitisation (occupational asthma).
Migrated from Short description of key information:
No studies are available.
Justification for classification or non-classification
No classification is proposed for skin sensitisation or respiratory sensitisation based on theoretical considerations and in the absence of any findings in exposed humans following occupational use over a long period of time.
Information on Registered Substances comes from registration dossiers which have been assigned a registration number. The assignment of a registration number does however not guarantee that the information in the dossier is correct or that the dossier is compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (the REACH Regulation). This information has not been reviewed or verified by the Agency or any other authority. The content is subject to change without prior notice.
Reproduction or further distribution of this information may be subject to copyright protection. Use of the information without obtaining the permission from the owner(s) of the respective information might violate the rights of the owner.
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