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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

WHITE PHOSPHORUS 

CAS#: 7723-14-0 

Division of Toxicology September 1997 

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 ToxFAQsTM, 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. 

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. 

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 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

WHITE PHOSPHORUS 

CAS#: 7723-14-0 

Division of Toxicology September 1997 

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. 

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. 

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 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

WHITE PHOSPHORUS 

CAS#: 7723-14-0 

Division of Toxicology September 1997 

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 phosphoruscontaining 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. 

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. 

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; 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

WHITE PHOSPHORUS 

CAS#: 7723-14-0 

Division of Toxicology September 1997 

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 phosphoruscontaining 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. 

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. 

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. 

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 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov 
 

 

 

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH STATEMENT 

WHITE PHOSPHORUS 

CAS#: 7723-14-0 

Division of Toxicology September 1997 

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 

Reference 

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. 

DEPARTMENT of HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Public Health Service
 

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ Telephone: 1-888-422-8737 Fax: 770-488-4178 E-Mail: atsdric@cdc.gov