ALER

Preventing Phosphin

Poisoning and Explos

during Fumigation

U.S. DEPARTMENTOFHEALTHANDHUMANSERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NationalInstitute forOccupational Safetyan d Health
DISCLAIMER

Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by the National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

This document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted.

Copies of this and other NIOSH documents are available from

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Publications Dissemination

4676 Columbia Parkway

Cincinnati, OH 45226–1998

Fax number: (513) 533–8573

Telephone number: 1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674)

E-mail: pubstaft@cdc.gov

To receive other information about occupational safety and health problems, call

1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674), or visit the NIOSH Web site at

www.cdc.gov/niosh

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 99–126

September 1999
Preventing Phosphine Poisoning and

Explosions during Fumigation

Workers, do the fol low ing if you work near

phos phide fu mi gants:

• Ob serve warn ing signs and know which

work ar eas have been fu mi gated. Do not

en ter them un til they have been aired out

and mon i tored to show that they are safe.

• Pay care ful at ten tion to han dling pro cedures on phos phide fu mi gant la bels.

• Be aware that phos phide fu mi gants may

ex plode when they con tact air or are mixed

with wa ter.

• Take part in any air mon i tor ing or train ing

pro grams your em ployer of fers.

• Do not rely on odor to warn you about toxic

amounts of phos phine gas.

• Use the re spi ra tory pro tec tion and pro tec -

tive cloth ing rec om mended in this Alert (see 

back of sheet to or der com plete Alert).

• Change into pro tec tive clothes be fore han -

dling fu mi gants.

• Do not eat, drink, or use to bacco in ar eas

where phos phide fu mi gants are used.

• Wash your hands and face be fore you eat,

drink, or smoke.

• If pos si ble, shower and change into clean

clothes be fore you leave work.

Please tear out and post. See back of sheet for employer recommendations

Distribute copies to workers. and ordering information.

WARNING!

Workers may be poisoned, injured, or killed by phosphine gas

while working with or near phosphide fumigants.

Alu mi num and mag ne sium phos phide con tain ers may

flash on open ing. Pay care ful at ten tion to han dling pro -

ce dures on la bels.
Em ployers, do the fol low ing to pro tect

your work ers from phos phide fu mi gants:

• Com ply with all ap pli ca ble OSHA and

EPA reg u la tions.

• In form work ers that phos phide fu migants may cause fa tal ill ness or in jury.

• Tell work ers which ma te ri als con tain

phos phide fu mi gants or are con tam inated with them.

• Make sure that phos phide fu mi gants are 

prop erly dis posed of by trained work ers.

• Pay spe cial at ten tion to the ex plo sive

na ture of phos phide fu mi gants in con -

fined spaces or mixed with wa ter.

• De ter mine the po ten tial for worker ex -

po sure.

• Do not rely on odor to warn work ers

about toxic amounts of phos phine gas. 

• Care fully mon i tor air con cen tra tions of

phos phine gas in the work area and the

work ers’ per sonal breath ing zones.

• Post warn ing signs to in di cate fu mi gated 

ar eas.

• De cide when and where res pi ra tors

should be used.

• Pro vide the re spi ra tory pro tec tion and

per sonal pro tec tive equip ment rec ommended in this Alert (see be low to or der

com plete Alert).

• Pro vide train ing pro grams for work ers to 

re duce ex po sures to fu mi gants. 

• Be aware of the many symp toms as soci ated with phos phine gas ex po sure.

• Seek im me di ate med i cal at ten tion for

ex posed work ers with se vere re spi ratory symp toms.

• Do not per mit work ers with symp toms

such as diz zi ness and lightheadedness

to drive or per form other com plex tasks.

For ad di tional in for ma tion, see NIOSH Alert: Pre venting Phos phine

Poi son ing and Ex plo sions dur ing Fu mi ga tion [DHHS (NIOSH)

Pub li ca tion No. 99–126]. Sin gle cop ies of the Alert are avail able free

from the fol low ing:

Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety and Health

Pub li ca tions Dis sem i na tion

4676 Co lum bia Park way

Cincinnati, OH 45226–1998

Fax num ber: (513) 533–8573

Phone num ber: 1–800–35– NIOSH (1–800–356–4674)

E-mail: pubstaft@ cdc.gov

U.S. De part ment of Health and Hu man Ser vices

Pub lic Health Ser vice

Cen ters for Dis ease Con trol and Pre ven tion

Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety and Health 
Preventing Phosphine Poisoning and

Explosions during Fumigation

The Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional

Safety and Health (NIOSH) re quests help in 

pre vent ing worker ex po sures to phosphine gas dur ing the ap pli ca tion of phos -

phide fu mi gants. These prod ucts are of ten 

used to fu mi gate ag ri cul tural prod ucts and 

to con trol ro dents.

This Alert de scribes 205 cases of ill ness or 

in jury in work ers ex posed to phos phine

gas as so ci ated with phos phide fu mi gants.

In for ma tion about these ex po sures is ur -

gently needed by ag ri cul tural work ers, em -

ploy ers, co op er a tive ex ten sion agents,

phy si cians, and other health care pro viders. NIOSH there fore re quests that ed i tors

of trade jour nals, safety and health of ficials, la bor un ions, and ag ri cul tural em -

ploy ers bring this Alert to the at ten tion of

all work ers who han dle prod ucts that gen -

er ate phos phine gas.

BACKGROUND

Hazards of Phosphide Fumigants

Phos phide fu mi gants re lease toxic phos phine

gas (PH3) when they con tact mois ture in the

air. When phos phine is in haled, it can re act

with mois ture in the lungs to form phos pho ric

acid, which can cause blis ter ing and edema.

These ef fects can be se ri ous or fa tal. Ex posure to phos phine has also been linked with

other ef fects such as chest tight ness, head -

ache, diz zi ness, and nau sea. Also, im proper

han dling of alu mi num and mag ne sium phos -

phide has caused in ju ries from flash fires and

ex plo sions.

1

WARNING!

Workers may be poisoned, injured, or killed by phosphine gas

while working with or near phosphide fumigants.

Alu mi num and mag ne sium phos phide con tain ers may

flash on open ing. Pay care ful at ten tion to han dling pro -

ce dures on la bels.
In 1988, NIOSH pub lished sur vey re sults

show ing that worker ex po sure to phos phine

of ten sub stan tially ex ceeded the Oc cu pational Safety and Health Ad min is tra tion

(OSHA) per mis si ble ex po sure limit (PEL)

[Zaebst et al. 1988]. The case re ports de -

scribed in this Alert clearly il lus trate the haz -

ards to work ers who han dle or work near

phos phide fu mi gants.

Commonly Used Fumigants

Com monly used fu mi gants in clude the fol -

low ing:

• Alu mi num phos phide (AlP). Alu mi -

num phos phide fu mi gants in clude

Phostoxin® and Fumitoxin®. They are

used for prod uct fu mi ga tion and oc casion ally for ro dent con trol. Some for -

mu la tions of alu mi num phos phide also

con tain am mo nium carbamate (about

40%), which re leases am mo nia gas

and car bon di ox ide [Hayes and Laws

1990]. The car bon di ox ide re duces the

ten dency of the phos phine to ox i dize

spon ta ne ously and thus pre vents ex -

plo sions and fires.

• Mag ne sium phos phide (Mg3P2

). Mag -

ne sium phos phide fu mi gants in clude

Magnaphos® and Magtoxin®. They are

used for prod uct fu mi ga tion and oc casion ally for ro dent con trol.

• Zinc phos phide (Zn3P2). Zinc phosphide fu mi gants in clude ZP Ro dent

Bait ® and Dexol Go pher Killer®. Zinc

phosphide is more sta ble chem i cally

than alu mi num phos phide; it forms

phos phine gas only when in gested.

Thus zinc phos phide is used for ro dent

con trol but not for prod uct fu mi ga tions.

Odor

Phos phine has been re ported to have the

odor of de cay ing fish at con cen tra tions be low 

the OSHA PEL of 0.3 parts per mil lion (ppm).

How ever, Zaebst et al. [1988] re ported that

work ers no ticed no odor when they worked

in phos phine con cen tra tions as great as

50 ppm for sev eral min utes with no re spi ratory pro tec tion. This lack of ap par ent odor

may be at trib ut able to ol fac tory fa tigue (in -

abil ity to de tect an odor fol low ing ex po sure).

Oth ers have re ported that phos phine has a

gar lic-like odor, but this may be due to the

use of tech ni cal grade phos phine fu mi gants

that con tain im pu ri ties. These im pu ri ties can

pro duce sub sti tuted phosphines, diphosphines, meth ane, and most im por tant, arsine

(AsH3). Arsine is a highly toxic gas with a

garlic-like odor. In 1979, NIOSH pub lished

Cur rent In tel li gence Bul le tin 32, which fully

de scribes the haz ards of arsine.

Thus work ers should not rely on odor to warn

them about the pres ence of phos phine.

Significant Chemical Reactions

On con tact with ox y gen, phos phine tends to

de com pose to more sta ble forms of phos -

pho rus—ul ti mately to phos pho ric acid. This

pro cess may oc cur ex plo sively at con cen tra -

tions above 1.8%, es pe cially when trace

amounts of diphosphine are pres ent [Cot ton

and Wilkinson 1972]. Phos phine gas also

re acts vi o lently with com pounds con tain ing

flu o rine, chlo rine, bro mine, and io dine (halides).

Fur ther more, phos phine gas can re act with a

va ri ety of met als, in clud ing cop per, brass,

gold, and sil ver.

Symptoms of Exposure

Phos phine gas ir ri tates mu cous membranes—es pe cially those of the deep lungs

and up per air ways. Be cause phos phine gas

2 Phosphine Poisoning
re leases highly acidic forms of phos pho rus

when it con tacts deep lung tis sues, it tends to 

cause pul mo nary edema (fluid in the lungs)

[Parkes 1982]. Once ab sorbed into the body,

phos phine can dam age cell mem branes and 

en zymes im por tant for res pi ra tion and me -

tab o lism.

In ter mit tent, low con cen tra tions of phos phine 

gas (prob a bly 0.08 to 0.3 ppm) have been as -

so ci ated with mild head aches. Higher in ter -

mit tent con cen tra tions (0.4 to 35 ppm) have

been linked to the fol low ing symp toms

[Jones 1964]:

• Di ar rhea, nau sea, ab dom i nal pain, and 

vom it ing

• Tight ness of the chest, breath less ness, 

sore ness or pain in the chest, and pal -

pi ta tions

• Head ache, diz zi ness, and stag ger ing

• Skin ir ri ta tion or burns

CURRENT EXPOSURE LIMITS

The OSHA PEL for phos phine is 0.3 ppm

as an 8-hour time-weighted av er age (TWA) 

[29 CFR* 1910.1000].

The U.S. En vi ron men tal Pro tec tion Agency

(EPA) has es tab lished reg u la tions gov ern ing 

the use of phos phide fu mi gants [40 CFR 152].

The NIOSH rec om mended ex po sure limit

(REL) for phos phine is 0.3 ppm as a TWA

for up to 10 hours per day dur ing a 40-hour

*Code of Fed eral Reg u la tions. See CFR in ref er ences.

work week, and 1 ppm as a 15-minute shortterm ex po sure limit (STEL) that should not be 

ex ceeded at any time dur ing a work day. In

ad di tion, NIOSH has es tab lished 50 ppm as

the im me di ately dan ger ous to life and health

(IDLH) con cen tra tion for phos phine gas. The

IDLH is the con cen tra tion that could (1) re sult 

in death or ir re vers ible health ef fects, or

(2) pre vent es cape from the con tam i nated

en vi ron ment within 30 min utes.

The Amer i can Con fer ence of Gov ern men tal

In dus trial Hy gien ists (ACGIH) thresh old limit

value (TLV) is 0.3 ppm as an 8-hour TWA;

the ACGIH STEL is 1 ppm [ACGIH 1998].

CASE REPORTS

Summary of Reports

The case re ports de scribed here were re -

ported by the Cal i for nia Pes ti cide Ill ness Sur -

veil lance Pro gram (PISP). This pro gram has

re ceived 29,863 re ports of pes ti cide-related

ill ness or in jury for the pe riod 1982–1992.

These re ports in clude 205 cases as so ci ated 

with ex po sure to phos phine gas and solid

forms of alu mi num, zinc, and mag ne sium

phos phide [Mehler et al. 1992].

Types of Fumigants Involved

Among the 205 cases re ported here, the pri -

mary fu mi gant was

— alu mi num phos phide in 179 cases,

— zinc phos phide in 3 cases, and

— not de ter mined in 23 cases (be cause

the ex po sure in volved more than one

pes ti cide).

Phosphine Poisoning 3
The 23 not de ter mined cases in cluded

— 18 cases in volv ing mixed ex po sure to

zinc phos phide and chlorophacinone

(an an ti co ag u lant), and

— 5 cases in volv ing mixed ex po sure to

methyl bro mide and alu mi num phos -

phide.

Types of Workers Affected

Fifty-one of the 205 cases (24.9%) in volved

fu mi gant ap pli ca tors (han dlers), and 154

(75.1%) in volved ex po sures to nonapplicators (by stand ers or work ers who did not di -

rectly han dle fu mi gants).

Products Involved

Fu mi ga tion of the fol low ing prod ucts were

linked to these cases:

No. Cases %

Ag ri cul tural prod ucts

 (grain, nuts, and fruit).... 142 69.3

Ro dent con trol prod ucts ... 52 25.4

Non ag ri cul tural prod ucts ... 6 2.9

Not spec i fied ......... 5 2.4

Sources of Exposure

Ap pli ca tors—Fu mi gant ap pli ca tors were

most of ten ex posed dur ing nor mal han dling.

The sources of ex po sure for the 51 ap pli ca tor 

cases were as fol lows:

No. Cases %

Nor mal han dling ........ 32 62.7

Han dling vi o la tions ....... 13 25.5

Fires or dis posal prob lems... 4 7.8

Di rect ex po sure ........ 2 3.9

Nonapplicators—Nonapplicators were most

of ten ex posed dur ing nor mal ap pli ca tion and

aer a tion. The sources of ex po sure for the

154 nonapplicator cases were as fol lows:

No. Cases %

Nor mal ap pli ca tion

 and aer a tion ......... 70 45.5

Fires or dis posal prob lems... 38 24.7

Re en try vi o la tions or

 ex po sures above 0.3 ppm . . 14 9.1

Fu mi gant con tainer han dling . 6 3.9

Offsite (drift) ex po sures .... 4 2.6

In-transit fu mi ga tion ...... 3 1.9

Di rect ex po sure ........ 1 0.6

Other.............. 18 11.7

Illnesses

Ap pli ca tors—Fu mi gant ap pli ca tors re ported

nu mer ous symp toms of ill ness af ter ex posure to phos phide fu mi gants. Symp toms in -

cluded skin ir ri ta tion, rash, head ache, nausea, vom it ing, throat ir ri ta tion, chest tightness, short ness of breath, diz zi ness, faint -

ness, and in co her ence. Two ap pli ca tors

re quired hos pi tal iza tion, and four ap pli ca tors

lost work days (5, 7, 11, and 14 days, re spec -

tively).

Two ap pli ca tors in volved in phos phide fires

and ex plo sions re ported chest pains, lighthead ed ness or diz zi ness, and dif fi culty in

breath ing or talk ing.

Nonapplicators—Nonapplicators re ported

nau sea, head ache, chest tight ness, and

stom ach cramps af ter ex po sure to phosphide fu mi gants. One death also oc curred

(see Case 7). Re ported ill nesses in nonapplicators of ten oc curred in clus ters, ac count ing

for 123 (79.9%) of the 154 re ported cases.

4 Phosphine Poisoning
Thirty-eight nonapplicators in volved in phos -

phine fires and ex plo sions re ported symp -

toms of ill ness. Fire fight ers were fre quent

vic tims. Of these cases, more than 20 were

fire fight ers who be came ill dur ing 6 phos -

phine ex po sure in ci dents. Oth ers in cluded a

tele vi sion re porter, a nearby me chanic, work -

ers, a home owner, and neigh bor hood res idents.

Injuries

Two ap pli ca tors were in jured when phosphide fu mi gants spon ta ne ously caught fire or 

ex ploded. They re ported fa cial burns, hair

loss, a bro ken leg, cuts, and a per fo rated ear

drum.

Examples of Case Reports

(1982–1992)

Case 1—Rodent Control

Six work ers re ported ill ness af ter they ap -

plied alu mi num phos phide to ro dent bur rows

in a field of tall, wet grass. No air sam ples

were taken, but the em ploy ers con cluded

that ap pli ca tion con di tions had pro duced

more rapid re lease of phos phine gas than ex -

pected.

Case 2—Rodent Control

A ro dent con trol worker wear ing cov er alls,

rub ber gloves, and gog gles no ticed an on ion/ 

gar lic odor while ap ply ing alu mi num phos -

phide tab lets. He soon de vel oped tight ness

in his chest. Though he was not hos pi tal ized,

he missed 11 days of work.

Case 3—Walnut Fumigation

A worker wear ing cloth and leather gloves

placed Phostoxin® tab lets into bins of wal -

nuts at a greater rate than rec om mended on

the la bel. He then se cured a plas tic liner on

top. One hour later the worker de vel oped diz -

zi ness, head ache, faint ness, in co her ence,

and short ness of breath. He lost 5 days of

work.

Case 4—Disposal

Af ter a fu mi ga tion, work ers placed un used

Phostoxin pel lets in a 4-cubic-foot bin and

cov ered it with a tar pau lin. The bin ex ploded

while two work ers were check ing it to see

whether com bus tion was com plete. One

worker suf fered fa cial burns, hair loss, a bro -

ken left leg, and a per fo rated ear drum. The

other worker re ceived fa cial cuts and burns.

Case 5—Disposal

At a North Hol ly wood spa ghetti sauce fac -

tory, two ex plo sions oc curred dur ing attempts to dis pose of un used ma te rial from 62 

trays of alu mi num phos phide. First, a small

ex plo sion re sulted when 20 trays were

placed in a bar rel with liq uid and a de ter gent.

A sec ond ex plo sion oc curred when 42 trays

were placed in a dry bar rel.

Four fire fight ers at the scene were hos pi tal -

ized for 40 hours with nau sea. Plant work ers

were treated and re leased at a nearby emer -

gency room. And four neigh bor hood res idents were briefly hos pi tal ized.

Case 6—Grain Elevator

Workers at a grain el e va tor de vel oped head -

ache, nau sea, tight ness of the chest, and

stom ach cramps af ter col lect ing grain sam -

ples and not ing a foul odor. A colorimetric

tube sam ple showed a phos phine gas con -

cen tra tion of about 25 ppm.

Phosphine Poisoning 5
Case 7—Railcar Fumigation

An un em ployed man stowed away in a ricefilled rail car that was be ing fu mi gated in tran -

sit from Hous ton, Texas. He was found dead

sev eral days later when the train ar rived in

Colusa, Cal i for nia [CDC 1994].

CONCLUSIONS

Se ri ous ill ness, in jury, and death may re sult

from han dling phos phide fu mi gants in the

work place. These risks are linked to the fol -

low ing:

• Lack of proper han dling dur ing fu migant ap pli ca tion

• Fail ure to mon i tor air con cen tra tions

dur ing ap pli ca tion

• Fail ure to use ap pro pri ate re spi ra tory

equip ment

• Im proper dis posal of un used fu mi gant

prod ucts 

•

In ci den tal ex po sure from nearby fu migant ap pli ca tion

Fires and ex plo sions due to the mis han dling

of fu mi gant prod ucts have par tic u larly di sas -

trous con se quences.

Workers are of ten un aware of the risks of

work ing with or near phos phide fu mi gants.

These risks can be greatly min i mized by fol -

low ing the rec om men da tions out lined in this

Alert.

RECOMMENDATIONS

NIOSH rec om mends the fol low ing mea sures 

to re duce ex po sures to phos phine gas in the

work place.

Summary of Recommendations

Workers

• Ob serve warn ing signs and know

which work ar eas have been fu migated. Do not en ter them un til they

have been aired out and mon i tored to

show that they are safe.

• Pay care ful at ten tion to han dling pro ce -

dures on phos phide fu mi gant la bels.

• Be aware that phos phide fu mi gants

may ex plode when they con tact air or

are mixed with wa ter.

• Take part in any air mon i tor ing or train -

ing pro grams your em ployer of fers.

• Do not rely on odor as a warn ing of

toxic amounts of phos phine gas.

• Use the re spi ra tory pro tec tion and pro -

tec tive cloth ing rec om mended in this

Alert.

• Change into pro tec tive clothes be fore

han dling fu mi gants.

• Prac tice good per sonal hy giene.

Employers

• Com ply with all ap pli ca ble OSHA and

EPA reg u la tions.

• In form work ers that phos phide fu migants may cause fa tal ill ness or in jury.

• Tell work ers which ma te ri als con tain

phos phide fu mi gants or are con tam inated with them.

6 Phosphine Poisoning
• Make sure that phos phide fu mi gants

are prop erly dis posed of by trained

work ers.

• Pay spe cial at ten tion to the ex plo sive

na ture of phos phide fu mi gants when

they con tact air or are mixed with wa ter.

• De ter mine the po ten tial for worker ex -

po sure.

• Do not rely on odor to warn work ers

about ex po sure to toxic amounts of

phos phine gas.

• Care fully mon i tor air con cen tra tions of

phos phine gas in the work area and the 

work ers’ per sonal breath ing zones.

• Post warn ing signs to in di cate fu migated ar eas.

• De cide when and where res pi ra tors

should be used.

• Pro vide the re spi ra tory pro tec tion and

per sonal pro tec tive equip ment rec om -

mended here.

• Pro vide train ing pro grams for work ers

to re duce ex po sures to fu mi gants.

• Be aware of the many symp toms as so -

ci ated with phos phine gas ex po sure.

• Seek im me di ate med i cal at ten tion for

ex posed work ers with se vere re spi ratory symp toms.

• Do not per mit work ers with symp toms

such as diz zi ness and light headedness to drive or per form other com plex

tasks.

These rec om men da tions are dis cussed in

more de tail in the fol low ing sub sec tions.

Aeration and Reentry

Take the fol low ing steps be fore per mit ting

work ers to re en ter the area af ter fu mi ga tion.

• Aer ate the area un til the air borne con -

cen tra tion of phos phine gas is be low

the NIOSH REL of 0.3 ppm.

• Mon i tor the area to make sure that

phos phine gas re leased from the fu mi -

gated prod uct does not raise con centra tions above 0.3 ppm.

• Al low no one to re en ter a treated area

with out an ap proved res pi ra tor un til this 

mon i tor ing is com plete.

Unaerated Products

Do not ex pose work ers to phos phine gas at

con cen tra tions greater than 0.3 ppm dur ing

the mov ing, stor age, or pro cess ing of in com -

pletely aer ated prod ucts.

Industrial Hygiene Monitoring

• Mon i tor both the work area and the

work ers’ breath ing zones af ter fu mi ga -

tion to

— pro tect work ers from phos phine

gas ex po sures that ex ceed the

NIOSH REL of 0.3 ppm, and

— de ter mine when and where re spira tory pro tec tion is needed.

• If mon i tor ing shows that air borne con -

cen tra tions are at or above 0.3 ppm, re -

duce them by us ing en gi neer ing controls (such as forced-air ven ti la tion)

and ap pro pri ate work prac tices.

Phosphine Poisoning 7
• For im me di ate sam pling re sults, use

short-term colorimetric in di ca tor tubes,

di rect-reading la pel badges, and direct-reading phos phine gas and va por

mon i tors.

Personal Hygiene

• Do not eat, drink, or use to bacco in ar -

eas where phos phide fu mi gants are

used.

• Wash hands and face be fore eating,

drinking, or smoking.

• If pos si ble, shower and change into

clean clothes be fore leav ing work.

Protective Clothing

• Use safety glasses with solid side

shields or gog gles to pro tect eyes if

con tact with phos phide pel lets is likely.

• Wear elastomeric or plas tic gloves and

shoes to pro tect hands and feet from

con tact with phos phide pel lets. Clean

such cloth ing with hot wa ter and de ter -

gent be fore the next use.

Respirators

Do not use res pi ra tors as the pri mary means

of con trol ling worker ex po sures to phos phine 

gas. In stead, use ef fec tive en gi neer ing con -

trols and work prac tices to min i mize worker

ex po sures.

Workers may use res pi ra tors when en gi neer -

ing con trols are be ing im ple mented and

when in ter mit tent tasks ex pose them to con -

cen tra tions that can not be kept be low the

NIOSH REL by en gi neer ing con trols alone.

All res pi ra tors should be used in con junc tion

with a for mal re spi ra tory pro tec tion pro gram

— as re quired in the OSHA re spi ratory pro tec tion stan dard [29 CFR

1910.134], and

— as out lined in the NIOSH Res pi rator De ci sion Logic [NIOSH 1987b]

and the NIOSH Guide to In dus trial

Re spi ra tory Pro tec tion [NIOSH

1987a].

Im por tant el e ments of the OSHA re spi ra tory

pro tec tion stan dard are as fol lows:

• An eval u a tion of the worker’s abil ity to

per form the work while wear ing a res pi -

ra tor

• Reg u lar train ing of work ers in the

proper use of res pi ra tors

• Pe ri odic en vi ron men tal mon i tor ing

• Res pi ra tor fit test ing

• Main taining, in spect ing, clean ing, and

stor ing res pi ra tors

• Se lecting proper NIOSH-approved res -

pi ra tors

• Pro ce dures to en sure ad e quate qual -

ity, quan tity, and flow of breath ing air

for at mo sphere-supplying res pi ra tors

Em ployers should eval u ate the re spi ra tory

pro tec tion pro gram reg u larly. Ta ble 1 lists the 

NIOSH-recommended re spi ra tory pro tec tion 

for work ers ex posed to phos phine gas.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Prin ci pal con tri bu tors to this Alert were

Michael O’Mal ley, M.D., M.P.H., of the Uni -

ver sity of Cal i for nia Ag ri cul tural Health and

Safety Cen ter, Da vis, CA; Greg ory Kullman,

8 Phosphine Poisoning
Ph.D., and Jean Cox-Ganser, Ph.D., of the

NIOSH Di vi sion of Re spi ra tory Dis ease

Studies, Morgantown, WV; and Jerome

Flesch of the NIOSH Ed u ca tion and In for ma -

tion Di vi sion, Cincinnati, OH.

Please di rect com ments, ques tions, or re -

quests for ad di tional in for ma tion to the fol -

low ing:

Di rec tor

Di vi sion of Re spi ra tory Dis ease Studies

Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety

 and Health

1095 Willowdale Road

Morgantown, WV 26505–2888

Tele phone: 1–304–285–5894, or call

1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674)

Di rec tor

UC Da vis Ag ri cul tural Health

 and Safety Center

Old Da vis Road

Uni ver sity of Cal i for nia

Da vis, CA 95616–8757

Tele phone: 1–530–752–5253

We greatly ap pre ci ate your as sis tance in pro -

tect ing the lives of Amer i can work ers.

Linda Rosenstock, M.D., M.P.H.

Di rec tor, Na tional In sti tute for

 Oc cu pa tional Safety and Health

Cen ters for Dis ease Con trol and Pre ven tion

REFERENCES

ACGIH [1998]. 1998 TLVs® and BEIs®: threshold limit val ues for chem i cal sub stances

and phys i cal agents; bi o log i cal ex po sure in -

di ces. Cincinnati, OH: Amer i can Con fer ence

of Gov ern men tal In dus trial Hy gien ists.

CDC (Cen ters for Dis ease Con trol and Pre -

ven tion) [1994]. Deaths as so ci ated with ex -

po sure to fu mi gants in rail road cars. MMWR

43(27):489–491.

CFR. Code of Fed eral reg u la tions. Wash ing -

ton, DC: U.S. Gov ern ment Print ing Of fice,

Of fice of the Fed eral Reg is ter.

Cot ton FA, Wilkinson G, eds. [1972]. Ad -

vanced in or ganic chem is try. A com pre hensive text. 3rd ed. New York: Interscience

Pub lishers, pp. 367–402.

Eller P, Cassinelli M, eds. [1994]. NIOSH

man ual of an a lyt i cal meth ods. 4th ed. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. De part ment of Health and

Hu man Ser vices, Pub lic Health Ser vice,

Cen ters for Dis ease Con trol and Pre ven tion,

Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety

and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Pub li ca tion No.

94–113.

Hayes WJ, Laws ER [1990]. Hand book of

pes ti cide tox i col ogy. Vol. 2. San Diego, CA:

Ac a demic Press, pp. 657–661.

Jones AT, Jones RC, Long ley EO [1964]. En -

vi ron men tal and clin i cal as pects of bulk

wheat fu mi ga tion with alu mi num phos phide.

Am Ind Hyg Assoc J 25:376–379.

Mehler LN, O’Mal ley MA, Krieger RI [1992].

Acute pes ti cide mor bid ity and mor tal ity:

Ca lifornia. Rev En vi ron Contam Toxicol

129:51–66.

Phosphine Poisoning 9
NIOSH [1979]. Cur rent In tel li gence Bul le tin

32: arsine (ar senic hy dride) poi son ing in the

work place. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. De part ment

of Health, Ed u ca tion, and Wel fare, Pub lic

Health Ser vice, Cen ter for Dis ease Con trol,

Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety

and Health, DHEW (NIOSH) Pub li ca tion No.

79–142.

NIOSH [1987a]. NIOSH guide to in dus trial

re spi ra tory pro tec tion. Cincinnati, OH: U.S.

De part ment of Health and Hu man Ser vices,

Pub lic Health Ser vice, Cen ters for Dis ease

Con trol, Na tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional

Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Pub li cation No. 87–116.

NIOSH [1987b]. NIOSH res pi ra tor de ci sion

logic. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. De part ment of

Health and Hu man Ser vices, Pub lic Health

Ser vice, Cen ters for Dis ease Con trol, Na -

tional In sti tute for Oc cu pa tional Safety and

Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Pub li ca tion No.

87–108.

Parkes WR [1982]. Oc cu pa tional lung dis or -

ders. 2nd ed. Lon don: Butterworths, pp. 472.

Zaebst DD, Blade LM, Bur roughs GE,

Morelli-Schroth P, Woodfin WJ [1988]. Phos -

phine ex po sures in grain el e va tors dur ing fu -

mi ga tion with alu mi num phos phide. Appl Ind

Hyg 3:146–154.

10 Phosphine Poisoning
Table 1. NIOSH-recommended respiratory protection for

workers exposed to phosphine gas*

Condition Minimum respiratory protection†

Phosphine gas concentration (ppm):

0.3–3 Supplied-air respirator

7.5 or less Supplied-air respirator operated in a continuous-flow mode

15 or less Self-contained breathing apparatus with a full facepiece, or 

Supplied-air respirator with a full facepiece, or

Air-purifying, full-facepiece respirator (gas masks) with a chin-style

front- or back-mounted canister

50 or less Supplied-air respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in

a pressure-demand mode, or

Self-contained breathing apparatus equipped with a full facepiece and

operated in a pressure-demand mode

Oxygen-limited atmospheres Supplied-air respirator equipped with a full facepiece and operated in

a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode, or

Self-contained breathing apparatus equipped with a full facepiece and

operated in a pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode

*Only NIOSH/MSHA-approved or NIOSH-approved (ef fec tive date July 10, 1995) re spi ra tory equip ment should be used.

† Res pi ra tors with higher as signed pro tec tion fac tors (APFs) may be sub sti tuted for those with lower APFs [NIOSH 1987a].

Phosphine Poisoning 11
DHHS(NIOSH)Publication No.99–12

To receive otherinformationabout occupationalsafetya

problems, callNIOSHat

1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674)

Faxnumber:(513)533–8573

E-mail:pubstaft@cdc.gov

or visittheNIOSHWebsite at www.cdc.gov/nio

Deliveringon theNation'spromise:

Safetyandhealthatwork

Forallpeople

Throughresearchandprevention