Nitric Acid

Excerpt from ERG Guide 157 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible / Water-Sensitive)]:

Excerpt from ERG Guide 157 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible / Water-Sensitive)]:

Use water in large amounts, carbon dioxide. NO powder, foam. In case of fire: keep drums, etc., cool by spraying with water. NO direct contact of the substance with water.

Fresh air, rest. Half-upright position. Artificial respiration may be needed. Refer immediately for medical attention.

Wear protective gloves when administering first aid. First rinse with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes, then remove contaminated clothes and rinse again. Refer immediately for medical attention .

Rinse with plenty of water for several minutes (remove contact lenses if easily possible). Refer immediately for medical attention.

Rinse mouth. Give nothing to drink. Do NOT induce vomiting. Refer immediately for medical attention.

· CALL 911. Then call emergency response telephone number on shipping paper. If shipping paper not available or no answer, refer to appropriate telephone number listed on the inside back cover.

· ELIMINATE all ignition sources (no smoking, flares, sparks or flames) from immediate area.

Excerpt from NIOSH Pocket Guide for Nitric acid:

Excerpt from NIOSH Pocket Guide for Nitric acid:

General First Aid:

(General first aid procedures)

· Wear positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

TIH (Toxic Inhalation Hazard) - Term used to describe gases and volatile liquids that are toxic when inhaled. Some are TIH materials themselves, e.g., chlorine, and some release TIH gases when spilled in water, e.g., chlorosilanes. [ERG 2016].

Approach fire from upwind to avoid hazardous vapors & toxic decomposition products. Use flooding quantities of water as spray or fog. Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers cool. Extinguish fire using agent suitable for surrounding fire.

If material /is/ involved in /a/ fire, extinguish fire using agent suitable for type of surrounding fire. (Material itself does not burn or burns with difficulty.) Use water in flooding quantities as fog. Cool all affected containers with flooding quantities of water. Apply water from as far a distance as possible.

If material /is/ involved in /a/ fire, use water in flooding quantities as fog. Cool all affected containers with flooding quantities of water. Apply water from as far a distance as possible. /Nitric acid, red, fuming/

As a rule, nitric acid is stored in stainless steel tanks and transported in stainless steel containers.

Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Separate from alkalies, metals, organics, and other oxidizing materials.

Storage areas should be separated from other premises, well-ventilated, sheltered from sunlight and sources of heat ... should have a cement floor ... contain no substances with which ... acid might react. Large stocks ... surrounded by curbs or sills ... In the event of leakage & provisions for neutralization should be made. A fire hydrant ... should be ... outside ... storage premises. ... Electrical equipment should be of the water-proof type and resistant to acid attack. Safety lighting is desirable.

Spilled nitric acid must not be absorbed with sawdust or other flammable material (because of the fire hazard); instead, its spread must be prevented by the construction of earth barriers.

1. Ventilate area of spill or leak. 2. Flush with copious quantities of water & neutralize with alkaline material (such as soda ash, lime, etc).

Environmental considerations: Air spill: Apply water spray or mist to knock down vapors. Vapor knockdown water is corrosive or toxic and should be diked for containment.

Environmental considerations: Land spill: Dig a pit, pond, lagoon, or holding area to contain liquid or solid material. /SRP: If time permits, pits, ponds, lagoons, soak holes, or holding areas should be sealed with an impermeable flexible membrane liner./ Dike surface flow using soil, sand bags, foamed polyurethane, or foamed concrete. Absorb bulk liquid with fly ash or cement powder. Neutralize with agricultural lime (CaO), crushed limestone, or sodium bicarbonate.

Environmental considerations: Water spill: Neutralize with agricultural lime (slaked lime), crushed limestone, or sodium bicarbonate. Air spill: Apply water spray or mist to knock down vapors. Vapor knockdown water is corrosive or toxic and should be diked for containment.

Excerpt from ERG Guide 157 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible / Water-Sensitive)]:

Excerpt from ERG Guide 157 [Substances - Toxic and/or Corrosive (Non-Combustible / Water-Sensitive)]:

SRP: The most favorable course of action is to use an alternative chemical product with less inherent propensity for occupational harm/injury/toxicity or environmental contamination. Recycle any unused portion of the material for its approved use or return it to the manufacturer or supplier. Ultimate disposal of the chemical must consider: the material's impact on air quality; potential migration in soil or water; effects on animal and plant life; and conformance with environmental and public health regulations.

Disposal of waste nitric acid into sewers or watercourses should not be permitted until the ph of the soln is /SRP: adjusted/ to a range of 5.5-8.5.

Recovering: Sodium carbonate-calcium hydroxide is added to form the neutral soln of nitrate of sodium and calcium. This soln can be discharged after dilution with water. Also, nitric acid can be recovered and reused. Recommendable methods: Neutralization & discharge to sewer. Not recommendable method: Landfill. Peer-review: Prior to neutralization dilute 10 times. Beware - Potential toxic. (Peer-review conclusions of an IRPTC expert consultation (May 1985))

Evacuate danger area! Consult an expert! Personal protection: chemical protection suit including self-contained breathing apparatus. Do NOT absorb in saw-dust or other combustible absorbents. Ventilation. Collect leaking liquid in sealable containers. Cautiously neutralize remainder with sodium carbonate. Then wash away with plenty of water.

The mainstay of treatment of any acid burn is copious irrigation with large amounts of tap water. To be most effective, treatment should be started immediately after exposure, preferably before arrival in the emergency department. Remove any contaminated clothing. Do not attempt to neutralize the burn with weak reciprocal chemicals (i.e. alkali for acid burns), because the heat generated from the chemical reaction may cause severe thermal injury.

Respiratory tract injury resulting from inhalation of mixtures of ozone and nitrogen dioxide and of ozone and formaldehyde was studied in Sprague-Dawley rats under exposure conditions of rest and exercise. Mixtures of ozone (0.35 or 0.6 ppm) with nitrogen dioxide (respectively 0.6 or 2.5 ppm) doubled the level of lung injury produced by ozone alone in resting exposures to the higher concn and in exercising exposures to the lower concn. Mixtures of ozone and nitrogen dioxide at high and low concn formed respectively 0.73 and 0.02 ppm nitric acid (HNO3) vapor. Chemical interactions among the oxidants, HNO3, and other reaction products (nitrogen pentoxide and nitrate radical) and lung tissue may be the basis for the ozone-nitrogen dioxide synergism. Increased dose and dose rate associated with exercise exposure may explain the presence of synergistic interaction at lower concn than observed in resting exposure. No oxidation products were detected in ozone-formaldehyde mixtures, and the antagonistic interaction observed in lung tissue during resting exposure may result from irritant breathing pattern interactions.

Skin contact with nitric acid can cause redness, pain, and severe skin burns. Nitric acid may cause severe burns to the eye and permanent eye damage. Severe and rapid corrosive burns of the mouth, gullet and gastrointestinal tract will result if nitric acid is swallowed. Symptoms include burning, choking, nausea, vomiting and severe pain.

LC50; Species: Carcinus maenas (Shore crab); Conditions: /static, aerated water/; Concentration: 180 mg/L for 48 hr

LC50; Species: Cerastoderma edule (Cockle); Conditions: renewal, /aerated water/; Concentration: 330-1000 mg/L for 48 hr

LC50; Species: Asterias rubens (Starfish); Conditions: renewal, /aerated water/; Concentration: 100-300 mg/L for 48 hr

LC50; Species: Agonus cataphractus (Hooknose or pogge); Conditions: saltwater, renewal; Concentration: 100-330 mg/L for 48 hr

TERRESTRIAL FATE: During transport through the soil, nitric acid will dissolve some of the soil material, in particular, the carbonate based materials. The acid will be neutralized to some degree with adsorption of the proton also occurring on clay materials. However, significant amounts of acid are expected to remain for transport down toward the ground water table. Upon reaching the ground water table, the acid will continue to move, now in the direction of the ground water flow. A contaminated plume will be produced with dilution and dispersion serving to reduce the acid concn.

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: In Colorado, nitric acid vapor is scavenged by incorporation into snow.

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: A mesoscale model of pollutant transport, transformation and deposition was used to perform a detailed analysis of acidic deposition to the states of New York and Ohio (USA) during a 3 day springtime deposition episode. This model can be used to assess the roles of wet and dry deposition to individual land types in the removal of pollutants from the atmosphere. Over two-thirds (67%, Ohio; 78%, New York) of the acidic deposition during this rainy period fell as wet deposition, primarily in the form of sulfuric acid. Dry deposition of sulfur dioxide accounted for 70-75% of the total dry acidic deposition in both areas, and most of the remaining dry deposition occurred as nitric acid. Over both deposition areas, particulate sulfate deposition accounted for < 1% of the total acid deposition. Due to the highly surface specific nature of the dry deposition process, individual land types displayed unique patterns of pollutant uptake. Water surfaces absorbed primarily sulfur dioxide, while rougher forested areas absorbed a larger proportion of nitric acid vapor. Urban areas, with their associated material surface, were found to absorb significantly less acid in the dry form, and during dry periods most of this deposition may occur as nitric acid vapor, although considerable uncertainty exists regarding the treatment of rainfall wetted surfaces. These model results suggest that dry pollutant fluxes to individual surface types will show significant variability from any averaged flux estimates over larger areas encompassing numerous land types.

ATMOSPHERIC FATE: Dry deposition of nitric acid (HNO3) to forests is controlled by aerodynamic properties of the canopy. Most surfaces are strong sinks for HNO3, and measurements show that deposition rates to vegetation are determined entirely by atmospheric transport, i.e. there are no surface resistances limiting uptake rates. For a typical forest 10 m high in a wind speed of about 5 m/sec, values of deposition velocity for HNO3 are likely to be in the range 50-100 mm/sec. For an avg air concn of HNO3 of 0.5 nL/L this would result in the deposition of about 4-8 kg N/ha/yr. A multi-layer canopy gas and radiation exchange model (Maestro) was modified to calculate air pollutant deposition. Leaf boundary layer resistances, and stomatal resistances in the model were adjusted for gas molecular diffusivity, and leaf surface resistances and internal resistances were added. A comparison between HNO3 deposition on Keilder Forest (300 m above sea level), United Kingdom and Whitetop Mountain (1682 m above sea level), Virginia for 6 mo (spring-summer) gave gas concn of 0.3 nL/L and 0.7 nL/L, respectively.

Serious local effects by all routes of exposure.

inhalation, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact

Oral (L1137) ; inhalation (L1137)

Nitric acid is a corrosive acid and a powerful oxidizing agent. The major hazard posed by it is chemical burns as it carries out acid hydrolysis with proteins (amide) and fats (ester) which consequently decomposes living tissue (e.g. skin and flesh). Concentrated nitric acid stains human skin yellow due to its reaction with the keratin. These yellow stains turn orange when neutralized. Systemic effects are unlikely, however, and the substance is not considered a carcinogen or mutagen.

/AQUATIC SPECIES/ /A/ semi-static open-system 96 hr acute toxicity test using the freshwater fish Aphanius dispar /was conducted/. After acclimation, 15 fish were transferred to each test aquarium at pH 4.5, 4.0, 3.75, 3.25, or 3.0. The control had a pH of 7.6. The pH grades were prepared by adding the required amount of the respective acids. The number of dead fish at each pH was registered at 6, 24, 48, 72, and 96-hours of exposure. ...Initially, exposure to the lethal pH resulted in hyperactivity, erratic swimming, and occasional convulsion. Over time, fish at pH 4.5 and 4.0 settled motionless at the bottom and those at pH 3.25 and 3.0 showed restlessness. Test animals secreted mucus so profusely at advanced stages of exposure that the water became milky. At the final stage of exposure, fish lost their sense of balance and swam lateral-side up. Physiological and mechanical responses eventually resulted in death in some specimens. The results of this study show that nitric acid is only moderately toxic while sulfuric acid is the most toxic. Therefore, the quantity as well as quality of acid must be considered in assessing the impact of acid precipitation in fish populations.

/AQUATIC SPECIES/ The concentration of hydrogen ions which caused 50% mortality of bluegill in 96 hr was between pH 3.5 and 3.0 for nitric acid. The quantity rather than the quality of acids is the primary factor in fish toxicity brought about by acid parts per thousand. At sublethal concentrations of acid, bluegill became hypoactive with respect to their swimming behavior.

/AQUATIC SPECIES/ The acute toxicity of nitric acid to fingerling rainbow trout was measured in a 7 day bioassay at 11 °C. The medium lethal concentration was approx pH 4.0. Fish which died at low pH (3.0-4.0) exhibited classical symptoms of acid toxicity. Comparison of the present results with other toxicity measurements suggests that nitric acid has intermediate toxicity between sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid at pH 3.0 and less toxic than either acid at pH greater than or equal to 3.3.

/AQUATIC SPECIES/ /A/ semi-static open-system 7 day toxicity test using the freshwater fish /Oncorhynchus mykiss/ (Rainbow trout, 0.95 g fish) /was conducted/. ...Tests were run in 38-L glass aquarium containing filtered tapwater adjusted to the treatment pH. The aquaria were held at 11 °C under a 12-hr light/12-hr dark cycle. Ten fish were randomly selected for each treatment and each treatment was randomly assigned to an incubator. The following treatments were used: pH 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, 4.0, 4.3, 4.7, and 5.0 tapwater, and tapwater plus nitric acid. The water was bubbled to remove CO2. Final adjustment to the experimental pH was done using reagent grade NaOH. ...At pH 3.0 to 4.0, fish became flecked with thick white mucus just prior to death and exhibited "coughing". They became disoriented shortly before death and tended to drift in the current produced by the aeration in the tank. Fish that died at pH 5.0 didn't show any of these symptoms. The authors were unable to explain the mortality observed at pH 5.0. Comparison with the results of this experiment and results of other toxicity studies suggests that HNO3 is intermediate in toxicity between H2SO4 and HCl at pH 3.0 and less toxic than either acid at pH 3.3 and above.

Cough. Sore throat. Burning sensation. Shortness of breath. Laboured breathing.

Pain. Yellow staining of the skin. Serious skin burns.

Redness. Pain. Severe burns.

Burns in mouth and throat. Burning sensation behind the breastbone. Abdominal pain. Vomiting. Shock or collapse.

irritation eyes, skin, mucous membrane; delayed pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, bronchitis; dental erosion

Skin contact can cause redness, pain, and severe skin burns. Nitric acid may cause severe burns to the eye and permanent eye damage. Severe and rapid corrosive burns of the mouth, gullet and gastrointestinal tract will result if nitric acid is swallowed. Symptoms include burning, choking, nausea, vomiting and severe pain.

Persons in charge of vessels or facilities are required to notify the National Response Center (NRC) immediately, when there is a release of this designated hazardous substance, in an amount equal to or greater than its reportable quantity of 1000 lb or 45.4 kg. The toll free number of the NRC is (800) 424-8802. The rule for determining when notification is required is stated in 40 CFR 302.4 (section IV. D.3.b).

Releases of CERCLA hazardous substances are subject to the release reporting requirement of CERCLA section 103, codified at 40 CFR part 302, in addition to the requirements of 40 CFR part 355. Nitric acid is an extremely hazardous substance (EHS) subject to reporting requirements when stored in amounts in excess of its threshold planning quantity (TPQ) of 1,000 lbs.

Nitric acid is designated as a hazardous substance under section 311(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and further regulated by the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1977 and 1978. These regulations apply to discharges of this substance. This designation includes any isomers and hydrates, as well as any solutions and mixtures containing this substance.

Nitric acid

80

15000

68

400

Toxic chemical that can be released at a facility.