Adverse Effects
Potassium bifluoride
CAS No. 7789-29-9

 
 

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ACTIVITY: Wood Preservative (Inorganic)
Structure:

Adverse Effects:
Bone
Chemical Weapons Precursor for the production of sarin-family nerve agents
Kidney
Lung
Mutagenic

Uses
• for manufacturing wood preservatives
• in the production of soldering agents and brazing.
• as a catalyst for polymerization.
• as a component of electrolyte and fluorine production
• in glass industry for etching and manufacturing special optical glasses.


Potential Health Effects :
There is limited information available on the hazards of this chemical. It is assumed that it will behave similarly to other soluble fluoride salts. If inhaled or swallowed, this compound can cause fluoride poisoning. Early symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and weakness. Later effects include central nervous system effects, cardiovascular effects and death.

Inhalation:
May cause irritation and burns to the respiratory tract, symptoms may include coughing, sore throat, and labored breathing. May be absorbed through inhalation of dust; symptoms may parallel those from ingestion exposure. Irritation and burning effects may not appear immediately.

Ingestion:
May cause salivation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, followed by weakness, tremors, shallow respiration, convulsions, and coma. May cause brain and kidney damage. Death may be caused by respiratory paralysis. Affects heart and circulatory system.

Chronic Exposure:
Chronic exposure may cause mottling of teeth and bone damage (osteosclerosis) and fluorosis. Symptoms of fluorisis include brittle bones,weight loss, anemia, calcified ligaments, general ill health and joint stiffness.

Aggravation of Pre-existing Conditions:
Populations that appear to be at increased risk from the effects of fluoride are individuals that suffer from diabetes insipidus or some forms of renal impairment.

Ref: POTASSIUM BIFLUORIDE. Material Data Safety Sheet.
http://www.kingwaychem.com/MSDSflu7.html

Bone (click on for all fluorinated pesticides)

Ingestion: May cause osseous fluorosis (increased radiographic density of the bones). May cause kidney damage, asthma and symptoms resembling rheumatism. Target Organ Effects: Chronic ingestion may cause kidney damage.
Ref: Material Safety Data Sheet for Potassium Hydrogendifluoride [synonym]. LA-CO INDUSTRIES, Inc./Markal Co. Product Name: SILVER BRAZING FLUX PASTE Revision #: 1.5 Date Prepared: March 1, 1995. Date Revised: August 6, 2002.
http://www.fluorideaction.org/pesticides/potassium.bifluoride.msds.pdf

Chronic exposure may cause mottling of teeth and bone damage (osteosclerosis) and fluorosis. Symptoms of fluorisis include brittle bones,weight loss, anemia, calcified ligaments, general ill health and joint stiffness.
Ref: POTASSIUM BIFLUORIDE. Material Data Safety Sheet.
http://www.kingwaychem.com/MSDSflu7.html

Chemical Weapons Precursor for the production of sarin-family nerve agents (click on for all fluorinated pesticides)

Bifluorides: Ammonium bifluoride, Potassium bifluoride, Sodium bifluoride. Bifluorides are used as a source of the fluorine atom in the synthesis of all of the G-type nerve agents except Tabun, in which the fluorine atom is replaced by a cyanide group. All bifluorides are synthesized from ammonium bifluoride. Ammonium bifluoride is in turn made from ammonium fluoride which is made by the reaction of ammonium hydroxide with hydrofluoric acid (HF.) Ammonia is manufactured on an extremely large scale (>10 million tons per annum in the US) using the Haber process, for which Fritz Haber (who played a major role in the German chemical weapons program in World War I) won a Nobel Prize. Worldwide hydrogen fluoride manufacture is approximately 400,000 tons. The quantities needed for manufacture of a stockpile of G agent would be miniscule in comparison.
Ammonium fluoride is converted to the bifluoride by dehydrating an aqueous solution of ammonium fluoride. The other bifluorides are manufactured by essentially the same process, except that the water, and the more volatile ammonia, are driven off in the presence of a sodium or potassium compound.
Ref: Nerve Agent Precursors: Bifluorides: Ammonium bifluoride, Potassium bifluoride, Sodium bifluoride.

.. some of the precursor chemicals which are early in the production process and/or are widely produced in industry (and hence not considered suitable for effective monitoring under the CWC [Chemical Weapons Convention]) have been included on the AGL [Australia Group List], because they are either known or suspected to have been sought for CW purposes. Such precursors include: ...the fluoride chemicals ... for the production of sarin-family nerve agents...

14 [potassium fluoride]
24 [hydrogen fluoride]
41 [potassium bifluoride]
42 [ammonium bifluoride]
43 [sodium bifluoride]
44 [sodium fluoride]

Ref: A COMPARISON OF THE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIST OF CHEMICAL WEAPON PRECURSORS AND THE CWC SCHEDULES OF CHEMICALS by Robert J. Mathews. September 1993. Quarterly Journal of the Harvard Sussex Program on CBW Armament and Arms Limitation. Issue No. 21.
http://www.fluoridealert.org/pesticides/Chemical.Weapon.Precursors.pdf

1995 UN Monitoring and Verification of Iraq's Compliance. The organofluorines on this list include (pesticides highlighted in red):
List A (Precursors):
Hydrogen fluoride
(7664-39-3)
Potassium fluoride
(7789-23-3)
Ammonium bifluoride (
1341-49-7)
Sodium bifluoride
(1333-83-1)
Sodium fluoride
(7681-49-4)
Potassium bifluoride
(7789-29-9)
Fluorine
(7782-41-4)

List B:
Sarin
(107-44-8)
Soman
(96-64-0)
DF
(676-99-3)
PFIB (382-21-8).
Also included are fluoropolymers (e.g. Aflex COP, Aflon COP 88, F 40, Ftorlon, Ftoroplast, Neoflon, ETFE, Teflon, PVDF, Tefzel, PTFE, PE TFE 500 LZ, Haller).
 
Ref: 1995 - Chemical & Biological Weapons. Fluorine chemicals.

Kidney (click on for all fluorinated pesticides)

Ingestion: May cause osseous fluorosis (increased radiographic density of the bones). May cause kidney damage, asthma and symptoms resembling rheumatism. Target Organ Effects: Chronic ingestion may cause kidney damage.
Ref: Material Safety Data Sheet for Potassium Hydrogendifluoride [synonym]. LA-CO INDUSTRIES, Inc./Markal Co. Product Name: SILVER BRAZING FLUX PASTE Revision #: 1.5 Date Prepared: March 1, 1995. Date Revised: August 6, 2002.

http://www.fluorideaction.org/pesticides/potassium.bifluoride.msds.pdf

Lung (click on for all fluorinated pesticides)

Ingestion: May cause osseous fluorosis (increased radiographic density of the bones). May cause kidney damage, asthma and symptoms resembling rheumatism. Target Organ Effects: Chronic ingestion may cause kidney damage.
Ref: Material Safety Data Sheet for Potassium Hydrogendifluoride [synonym]. LA-CO INDUSTRIES, Inc./Markal Co. Product Name: SILVER BRAZING FLUX PASTE Revision #: 1.5 Date Prepared: March 1, 1995. Date Revised: August 6, 2002.
http://www.fluorideaction.org/pesticides/potassium.bifluoride.msds.pdf

Mutagenic (click on for all fluorinated pesticides)

Abstract: The L5178Y mouse lymphoma cell forward-mutation assay was used to test for the mutagenic activity of sodium and potassium fluoride at the thymidine kinase locus. Mutants were detected by colony formation in soft agar in the presence of trifluorothymidine. Mutagenic and toxic responses were observed in the concentration range of 300-600 micrograms/ml with both sodium and potassium fluoride. Approximately 3-fold increases in mutant frequency were observed for concentrations in the 500-700 micrograms/ml range that reduced the relative total growth to approximately 10% in the absence or presence of a rat-liver S9 activation system. A sample of 30% sodium fluoride-70% sodium bifluoride (NaHF2) induced a similar mutagenic response but was more toxic with respect to the fluoride concentration. A specificity for fluoride ions in causing mutagenesis was indicated by the fact that much higher concentrations of sodium or potassium chloride were necessary to cause toxicity and increases in the mutant frequency. The possible involvement of chromosomal changes was signaled by the predominant increase in the small colony class of mutants.
Ref: Caspary WJ et al. (1987). Mutagenic activity of fluorides in mouse lymphoma cells. Mutat Res. Mar;187(3):165-80.

 
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