Substance profile
Calcium carbide
Calcium carbide is a substance with a harmonised classification under EU CLP.
01 · Identification
What Calcium carbide is
Calcium carbide is a substance with a harmonised classification under EU CLP.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger.
02 · Identifiers
Calcium carbide identifiers and molecular data
Calcium carbide CAS number and EC number
03 · GHS classification
Calcium carbide hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Calcium carbide pictograms and signal word
Calcium carbide hazard class and category
| Hazard class | Category | From code | Pictogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| In contact with water emits flammable gases GHS chapter 2.12 | Category 1 | H260 | GHS02 |
Calcium carbide hazard statements (H-codes)
| Code | Hazard statement |
|---|---|
| H260 | In contact with water releases flammable gases which may ignite spontaneously. |
This page lists only the codes assigned to Calcium carbide. The full reference lives on the hazard statements hub, the precautionary statements hub and the GHS pictograms hub.
Safety Data Sheet
Getting an SDS for Calcium carbide
A Safety Data Sheet is written for a product, not for a substance: the supplier of the grade you actually buy issues it, so two suppliers of Calcium carbide issue two different sheets. That is why there is no single authoritative SDS for a substance to download — what there is, is the job of collecting the sheets for the products you hold and keeping them current as suppliers revise them.
04 · Precautionary statements
Calcium carbide precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 4 precautionary statements to Calcium carbide. They are grouped the way a label groups them: what to do before handling, what to do when something has already happened, how to store it and how to dispose of it.
Prevention
What to do before and during handling so the hazard never happens.
Disposal
What has to happen to the contents and the empty container.
Reading the notation. … is a blank the supplier fills in — not a truncated sentence.· [square brackets] mark a part printed only when it applies.
05 · Names in the regulation
Calcium carbide name in 23 EU languages
CLP Annex VI Part 3 is published in every language edition of the regulation, and the identification column is written out in each of them. Nothing below is translated by us: each line is the name as that edition prints it. Under Art. 18(2) the substance name from Annex VI is a lawful product identifier, so this is the wording to put on a label going to that market — and where the cell lists several designations, any one of them qualifies.
| Language | Name in CLP Annex VI Part 3 |
|---|---|
| Bulgarian български | калциев карбид |
| Spanish español | Carburo de calcio |
| Czech čeština | karbid vápníku |
| Danish dansk | calciumcarbid |
| German Deutsch | Calciumcarbid |
| Estonian eesti | kaltsiumkarbiid |
| Greek ελληνικά | ανθρακασβέστιο |
| English English | calcium carbide |
| French français | carbure de calcium |
| Croatian hrvatski | kalcijev karbid |
| Italian italiano | carburo di calcio |
| Latvian latviešu | kalcija karbīds |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | kalcio karbidas |
| Hungarian magyar | kálcium-karbid |
| Maltese Malti | karbur tal-kalċju |
| Dutch Nederlands | calciumcarbide |
| Polish polski | węglik wapnia karbid |
| Portuguese português | carboneto de cálcio |
| Romanian română | carbură de calciu |
| Slovak slovenčina | karbid vápenatý |
| Slovenian slovenščina | kalcijev karbid |
| Finnish suomi | kalsiumkarbidi |
| Swedish svenska | kalciumkarbid |
All 23 language editions of Annex VI carry this entry. Irish is the twenty-fourth official EU language and has no line here for a different reason: no consolidated CLP text has ever been published in Irish, so there is no Irish edition of Annex VI to quote a name from. Source: consolidated CLP, CELEX 02008R1272, language editions. © European Union, https://eur-lex.europa.eu — only the electronic Official Journal of the European Union is authentic.
06 · Label elements
Calcium carbide GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Calcium carbide, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Danger
Calcium carbide
- In contact with water releases flammable gases which may ignite spontaneously.
- Keep away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and other ignition sources. No smoking.
- Handle and store contents under inert gas/…
- In case of fire:
- Dispose of contents/container to …
Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity
Need this as an actual label? Open Calcium carbide in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Transport
Calcium carbide UN number and transport classification
Transport classification is a separate system from the GHS classification above. It decides how a package is marked and how a load may be carried; it does not follow from the workplace label, and the workplace label does not follow from it. The entries below are linked by CAS number, never by name.
Calcium carbide under UN 1402 — shipping name, class and packing group
Europe · ADR 2025, Table A
| Proper shipping name (3.1.2) | Class | Classification code | PG | Labels (column 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALCIUM CARBIDE | 4.3 | W2 | I | |
| CALCIUM CARBIDE | 4.3 | W2 | II | |
Source: ADR 2025, Table A of Chapter 3.2 · ECE/TRANS/352 Vol. I (UNECE). Class 4.3 is “Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases” (ADR 2.1.1.1).
United States · 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table
| Proper shipping name (column 2) | Class or division | PG | Labels (column 6) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calcium carbide | 4.3 | I | |
| Calcium carbide | 4.3 | II | |
Source: 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table · eCFR, revision 2026-08-03. Class 4.3 is “Dangerous when wet material” (49 CFR 173.2).
08 · Questions
Calcium carbide — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Calcium carbide?
The CAS number of Calcium carbide is 75-20-7. Its EC number is 200-848-3.
What does a Calcium carbide label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Calcium carbide carries the pictogram Flame and the signal word is Danger.
Is Calcium carbide flammable?
Yes. CLP Annex VI assigns Calcium carbide H260 — in contact with water releases flammable gases which may ignite spontaneously.
Is Calcium carbide a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Calcium carbide. Annex VI is a list of agreed classifications, not a list of substances found safe, so this is an absence of a classification rather than a clean bill of health.
Nearby
Substances next to Calcium carbide
Keep going: substances starting with C, or search the whole database by name, CAS number, pictogram or signal word.