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EC number: 231-633-2 | CAS number: 7664-38-2
- 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

Carcinogenicity
Administrative data
Description of key information
No regulatory studies are available however the following documents discuss the possibility of phosphoric acid mist being carcinogenic via the inhalation route:
- IARC (1992). International Agency for Research on Cancer. Occupational exposure to mists and vapours from strong inorganic acids; and other industrial chemicals. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, volume 54. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol54/mono54.pdf
- IARC (2012). International Agency for Research on Cancer. Chemical agents and related occupations. A review of human carcinogens. Mists from strong inorganic acids. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, volume 100F. http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol100F/mono100F-33.pdf
A full assessment of the available data has been performed and the conclusions are summarised under 'conclusions for classification or non-classification'.
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Justification for classification or non-classification
Conclusion on classification and labelling
In accordance with Regulation EC No.1272/2010 (EU CLP) phosphoric acid does not meet the criteria for classification as “carcinogenic to humans” for the following reasons:
1. There are no human studies on phosphoric acid that establish a causal relationship between exposure and the development of cancer. As such, a classification as Category 1A is not warranted.
2. There are no animal experiments that show evidence of phosphoric acid being a carcinogen. Therefore, a classification as Category 1B is not supported by the dataset.
3. There are no supporting data that would constitute ‘limited evidence’ of carcinogenicity for phosphoric acid. None of the studies report a positive association between exposure to phosphoric acid and cancer due to the lack of phosphoric acid specific data. For the reasons details above a causal interpretation based on acidity and alleged similarities to sulphuric acid does not appear credible and therefore Category 2 is not considered appropriate.
It is not advised to apply a ‘precautionary’ approach to classification based on the proposed classification for sulphuric acid since there is no proven mode-of-action or threshold for the proposed effects and it is not scientifically proven that any substance capable of causing respiratory irritation (due to low pH) is also a carcinogen. Furthermore, it would not be advisable to propose an animal study to investigate the mode of action. The OECD guideline for long-term carcinogenicity (OECD TG 451) focusses on exposure via the oral route, the guideline states that carcinogenicity studies via the inhalation route must be designed on a case-by-case basis. As reported in the OECD guideline for sub-chronic inhalation (OECD TG 413) it is possible to perform repeated-dose inhalation testing on dilutions of corrosive substances but it is stated that ‘when exposing animals to these materials the targeted concentrations should be low enough to not cause marked pain and distress ’. Given that the hypothesized mode of action for phosphoric acid mist induced lung cancer revolves around the irritation effects it would be meaningless to perform a study to investigate dilutions of phosphoric acid that did not induce irritation. In addition, testing at higher concentrations would cause significant pain and distress to the test animals and a test protocol detailing such a method is unlikely to be acceptable to regulating authorities.
There is no regulatory requirement to perform animal testing to assess the risk and therefore no testing is proposed in accordance with the Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (EU CLP) and Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH).
Please see attached report for further analysis.
Additional information
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