Silver and Its Compounds

LABORATORY CHEMICAL SAFETY SUMMARY SILVER AND ITS COMPOUNDS  

Toxicity Data PEL (OSHA) 0.01 mg/m TLV-TWA (ACGIH) 0.1 mg/m (silver metal) TLV-TWA (ACGIH) 0.01 mg/m (soluble silver compounds. 

Major Hazards Exposure to silver metal or soluble silver compounds can cause discoloration or blue-gray darkening of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. 

Toxicity The acute toxicity of silver metal is low. The acute toxicity of soluble silver compounds depends on the counterion and must be evaluated case by case. For example, silver nitrate is strongly corrosive and can cause burns and permanent damage to the eyes and skin. Chronic exposure to silver or silver salts can cause a local or generalized darkening of the mucous membranes, skin, and eyes known as argyria. The other chronic effects of silver compounds must be evaluated individually. 

Flammability and Explosibility Silver and most soluble silver compounds are not combustible. However, silver nitrate and certain other silver compounds are oxidizers and can increase the flammability of combustible materials. Silver acetylide, azide, fulminate, oxalate mixtures, styphnate, tartarate mixtures, and tetrazene are all explosives and must be handled as such. 

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The thermodynamic behaviour of silver and solubilities of silver and its compounds have been computed in an electrochemical study of silver in potassium hydroxide solutions at high temperature ". ... 

Silver and its compounds have long been used as antimicrobial agents in medicine. The mechanisms of silver toxicity as they relate to human exposure to pharmaceuticals have been reviewed (328). Silver is active at low concentrations and has a low toxicity. The practice of instilling the eyes of infants with 1% of AgN03 solution immediately after birth is still common in some countries, for prevention of opthalmia neonatorum (329). Silver sulfadiazine 77 is clinically used as a topical antimicrobial and antifungal agent and applied as a cream to prevent bacterial infections in cases of severe burns. It is an insoluble polymeric compound and releases Ag(I) ions slowly. 

Physical and Chemical Properties. No data exist on the partition coefficients and Henry s law constant for silver and its compounds. A vapor pressure has been determined for silver at very high temperatures (greater than 900 °C), but not for any of its compounds. Generally, the fate of silver in the environment is fairly well understood however, a determination of these environmentally... 

Environmental Fate. The factors governing the environmental fate of silver are not well characterized. While silver and its compounds are transported in the air, water, and soil, and are partitioned between these media, the mechanisms of transport and partitioning are not well-defined. No partition coefficients or constants have been determined for silver or its compounds. Little information was found in the available literature on transformation of silver in water or soil. Some microorganisms present in these media may be able to transform silver and silver compounds however, silver is not expected to be significantly transformed in the environment because it is toxic to microorganisms. Further information on the size and flux of environmental compartments and the transport and transformations of silver and silver compounds in the environment would be useful in defining pathways for potential human exposure. 

Sophisticated and highly refined methods are available to detect trace levels of silver and its compounds in air, solid waste leachate, water (the medium of most concern for human exposure), food, and other environmental media. These methods can accurately measure background levels in environmental samples, as well as levels at which health effects occur. There are no known deficiencies in the analytical methods for determining silver in environmental media, and no additional analytical methods appear to be necessary. 

Photography. No discussion of the uses of silver and its compounds could be complete without reference to photographic processes. That photography is responsible for the utilization of a considerable fraction of the annual production of silver is shown by the fact that the Eastman Kodak Company alone uses more than 300,000 lb of silver annually. 

CONSENSUS REPORTS Silver and its compounds are on the Community Right-To-Know List. Reported in EPA TSCA Inventory. 

Silver and its compounds have long been used, in one form or another, as antimicrobial agents. The silver compound of major therapeutic interest at the present time is silver sulphadiazine. Many in health care, however, will... 

L. M. Gedansky and L. G. Hcplcr, Engelhard Tech. Bull., 1969, 9, 117 (collected thermodynamic and potential data for silver and its compounds, in solid and aqueous solutions 100 references). 

There are a number of other uses for silver and its compounds in industry. Silver-zinc and silver-cadmium provide very-high-capacity batteries. Due to their high power... 

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