Safety
Concentrated acetic acid is corrosive to skin and must, therefore, be handled with appropriate care, since it can cause skin burns, permanent eye damage, and irritation to the mucous membranes. These burns or blisters may not appear until hours after exposure. Latex gloves offer no protection, so specially resistant gloves, such as those made of nitrile rubber, are worn when handling the compound. Concentrated acetic acid can be ignited with difficulty in the laboratory. It becomes a flammable risk if the ambient temperature exceeds 39 °C (102 °F), and can form explosive mixtures with air above this temperature (explosive limits: 5.4–16%).
The hazards of solutions of acetic acid depend on the concentration. The following table lists the EU classification of acetic acid solutions:
| Concentration by weight |
Molarity | Classification | R-Phrases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–25% | 1.67–4.16 mol/L | Irritant (Xi) | R36/38 |
| 25–90% | 4.16–14.99 mol/L | Corrosive (C) | R34 |
| >90% | >14.99 mol/L | Corrosive (C) Flammable (F) | R10, R35 |
Solutions at more than 25% acetic acid are handled in a fume hood because of the pungent, corrosive vapour. Dilute acetic acid, in the form of vinegar, is harmless. However, ingestion of stronger solutions is dangerous to human and animal life. It can cause severe damage to the digestive system, and a potentially lethal change in the acidity of the blood.
Due to incompatibilities, it is recommended to keep acetic acid away from chromic acid, ethylene glycol, nitric acid, perchloric acid, permanganates, peroxides and hydroxyls.
Read more about this topic: Acetic Acid
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