Ammonium bifluoride
CAS No. 1341-49-7
 
 

Return to Ammonium bifluoride Adverse Effects

ACTIVITY: Wood Preservative (Inorganic)

Structure:

Adverse Effects:

Bone
Brain
CNS
Heart
Kidney
Tremors

Chemical Weapons Precursor for the production of sarin-family nerve agents

Environmental Effects:

Appendix 1: Hazardous Polluting Substance. Identified in 1978 Agreement between Canada and the US on Great Lakes Water Quality.

Regulatory Information
(only comprehensive for the US)
US EPA Registered: No
Molecular Formula: NH4F-HF
INORGANIC
Registered use in
(includes only a limited list of countries)

Netherlands 
Other Information
Molecular Formula: NH4F-HF
INORGANIC
Other Names: Ammonium acid fluoride
Ammonium hydrogen fluoride
Ammoniumbifluoride
Of special interest:
PAN Data
2002 - Finding from post-morten analysis: brain, pancreas, liver, kidney, stomach, and heart. Paper presented at the March 2002 PITTCOM Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1998 - Pediatric Death and Fluoride-containing Wheel Cleaner. Annals of Emergency Medicine. Vol 31, No.4, April 1998.
Report on poisoning incident of a 2 year old child by B Markovitz et al. Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Mo.
1996 - Pub Med Abstract Marked hypocalcemia and ventricular fibrillation in two pediatric patients exposed to a fluoride-containing wheel cleaner, by AE Klasaer et al. Ann Emerg Med, Dec;28(6):713-8.
Online as of September 15, 2003 - Material Safety Data Sheet from Analytyka.
Control of Decay in Waterfront Structures. The FPL was established in 1910 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The FPL, located in Madison, Wisconsin, is the nation's leading wood research institute. Paper by the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL)
Revised January 1996 - Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet. New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services.
November 2000 - Two minor citations for use as a wood preservative in: BIOCIDES (II). Refined aquatic environmental risk assessment of 28 priority biocides. RIVM report 601506005. B.J.W.G. Mensink. November 2000. RIVM = Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu. National Institute of Public Health and the Environment. http://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/601506005.pdf

1954 - A quantum-mechanical discussion of the bifluoride ion. Thesis by Martin Karplus. In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. California Institute of Technology. Pasadena, California. Acknowledgements to several people (including Dr. Linus Pauling) were cited and also: "Generous financial assistance was supplied by the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation."
Excerpts from Introduction:
... In spite of the recognized importance of the hydrogen bond, no one has given a detailed discussion of the forces involved in its formation. Since the bifluoride ion (FHF) is the simplest hydrogen bonded species, it appears best suited for a theoretical attack.
This thesis is an attempt to develop a semi-theoretical method applicable to highly ionic systems and to apply this method to a treatment of the bifluoride ion. It is hoped that the results contribue to a better understanding of the hydrogen bond and provide an illustration of the power of quantum-mechanical methods in chemistry.

Quarterly Technical Report January 1, 1951 thru March 31, 1951. Program F. Fluoride.
Authors: Maynard EA, Downs WL, Le Sher MF
Source: University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project, Rochester, New York, Contract No. W-7401-eng-49, pages 73-76, 1 reference.

Acute toxicity tests were conducted on various animal species by various routes of administration with a number of fluoride compounds: sodium-fluoride (7681494), potassium-fluoride (7789233), calcium-fluoride, ammonium-fluoride (1341497), beryllium-fluoride (7787497), beryllium-potassium-fluoride (7787500)...
Ref: Ammonium bifluoride at Toxnet.


Chemical & Biological Weapons. Fluorine chemicals. 1995 UN Monitoring and Verification of Iraq's Compliance. Fluorine & Organofluorines substances include:
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 flu
oropolymers (e.g. Aflex COP, Aflon COP 88, F 40, Ftorlon, Ftoroplast, Neoflon, ETFE, Teflon, PVDF, Tefzel, PTFE, PE TFE 500 LZ, Haller).

September 1993 - Chemical Weapon Precursor chemicals that are also used as fluorine pesticides. A comparison of the Australia group list of chemical weapon precursors and the CWC schedules of chemicals, by RJ Mathews. Chemical Weapons Convention Bulletin. Issue No. 21. Page 2,

[pesticides highlighted in red]: "... 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 (14 [potassium fluoride], 24 [hydrogen fluoride], 41 [potassium bifluoride], 42 [ammonium bifluoride], 43 [sodium bifluoride] and 44 [sodium fluoride]) for the production of sarin-family nerve agents..." The list of precursor chemicals and their CAS Nos. appear on page 3. Also available at: http://fas-www.harvard.edu/~hsp/bulletin/cwcb21.pdf

 
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