Substance profile
Calcium cyanide
Calcium cyanide is colorless crystals or white powder with an odor of hydrogen cyanide.
01 · Identification
What Calcium cyanide is
Calcium cyanide is colorless crystals or white powder with an odor of hydrogen cyanide. It melts at 350 °C, is soluble in water.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger. It is classed as reactive agents - 1st degree.
02 · Identifiers
Calcium cyanide identifiers and molecular data
Calcium cyanide CAS number and EC number
Calcium cyanide molecular formula and molecular weight
03 · GHS classification
Calcium cyanide hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Calcium cyanide pictograms and signal word
Calcium cyanide hazard class and category
| Hazard class | Category | From code | Pictogram |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute toxicity - oral GHS chapter 3.1 | Category 1 or 2 | H300 | GHS06 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - acute GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H400 | GHS09 |
| Hazardous to the aquatic environment - chronic GHS chapter 4.1 | Category 1 | H410 | GHS09 |
Where two values are shown with “or”, the hazard statement is shared by more than one category or by more than one class, and the code alone does not say which. H272, for example, belongs to oxidising liquids and to oxidising solids — the physical state decides. The binding answer for a specific entry is in the CLP Annex VI table itself.
Calcium cyanide hazard statements (H-codes)
| Code | Hazard statement |
|---|---|
| H300 | Fatal if swallowed. |
| H400 | Very toxic to aquatic life. |
| H410 | Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects. |
Calcium cyanide supplemental EU statements (EUH)
| Code | Statement |
|---|---|
| EUH032 | Contact with acids liberates very toxic gas. |
This page lists only the codes assigned to Calcium cyanide. 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 cyanide
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 cyanide 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 cyanide precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 7 precautionary statements to Calcium cyanide. 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.
Response
What to do once exposure, spillage or fire has already happened.
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 cyanide 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 цианид |
| Spanish español | Cianuro de calcio |
| Czech čeština | kyanid vápenatý |
| Danish dansk | calciumcyanid |
| German Deutsch | Calciumcyanid |
| Estonian eesti | kaltsiumtsüaniid |
| Greek ελληνικά | κυανιούχο ασβέστιο |
| English English | calcium cyanide |
| French français | cyanure de calcium |
| Croatian hrvatski | kalcijev cijanid |
| Italian italiano | cianuro di calcio |
| Latvian latviešu | kalcija cianīds |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | kalcio cianidas |
| Hungarian magyar | kálcium-cianid |
| Maltese Malti | ċjanur tal-kalċju |
| Dutch Nederlands | calciumcyanide |
| Polish polski | cyjanek wapnia dicyjanek wapnia |
| Portuguese português | cianeto de cálcio |
| Romanian română | cianură de calciu |
| Slovak slovenčina | kyanid vápenatý |
| Slovenian slovenščina | kalcijev cianid |
| Finnish suomi | kalsiumsyanidi |
| Swedish svenska | kalciumcyanid |
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 cyanide GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Calcium cyanide, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Danger
Calcium cyanide
- Fatal if swallowed.
- Very toxic to aquatic life.
- Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
- Contact with acids liberates very toxic gas.
- Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product.
- Avoid release to the environment.
- IF SWALLOWED:
- Immediately call a POISON CENTER/doctor/…
- Rinse mouth.
- Collect spillage.
- Dispose of contents/container to …
Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity
Need this as an actual label? Open Calcium cyanide in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Health hazards
Calcium cyanide health hazards and exposure limits
Calcium cyanide hazard summary
Releases hydrogen cyanide in moist air; [Hawley] A skin, eye, and respiratory tract irritant; May cause cyanide poisoning; [ICSC] See CYANIDES.
Source: Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases
Calcium cyanide occupational exposure limits
| Limit | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PEL | 5.0 [mg/m3], as CN | Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases |
| IDLH | 25.0 [mg/m3], as CN | Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases |
These are United States values. The European Union sets its own indicative and binding limits, and the figure that applies at a given workplace is the one in the local regulation — not the one shown here.
08 · Physical and chemical properties
Calcium cyanide properties
Every value is shown with the conditions it was measured under and the source it came from. Where sources disagree, all values are listed rather than one being picked — the difference is usually a different form of the substance, not an error.
Calcium cyanide melting point
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melting point | 350 °C (662 °F) | above this value | HSDB |
Calcium cyanide density
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 1.853 g/cm³ | at 20 °C, solid | HSDB |
| 1.853 g/cm³ | at 20 °C | CAMEO | |
| 1.9 g/cm³ | at 20 °C | ICSC |
Calcium cyanide solubility
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solubility | Soluble in water with gradual liberation of HCN | HSDB | |
| Soluble in ethanol | HSDB | ||
| Soluble in very weak acid with evolution of hydrogen cyanide | HSDB |
Calcium cyanide vapor pressure
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vapor pressure | 0.03 mmHg | Haz-Map |
Values compiled from PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary. Temperatures converted to Fahrenheit for reference.
09 · Fire and explosion
Calcium cyanide fire and explosion behaviour
These are descriptions rather than measured values, so they are kept out of the table above and quoted here with the source that reported them.
Calcium cyanide fire potential
Not flammable
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
10 · Handling and storage
Calcium cyanide storage and handling
Calcium cyanide safe storage
Store only in original container. Separated from water, acids, carbon dioxide and food and feedstuffs. Well closed. Fireproof. Dry. Store in an area without drain or sewer access. Provision to contain effluent from fire extinguishing.
Source: ILO-WHO International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSCs)
Calcium cyanide storage conditions
Store in cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Separate from acids, oxidizing materials.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Calcium cyanide incompatible materials
Reacts with water and acids evolving highly toxic hydrogen cyanide.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Calcium cyanide reactivity
CALCIUM CYANIDE gives weakly acidic solutions. Contact with acids causes rapid evolution of hydrogen cyanide. Incompatible with isocyanates, nitrides, and peroxides. May react rapidly with oxidizing agents.
Source: CAMEO Chemicals
Planning storage for a mix of chemicals? Check Calcium cyanide in the storage compatibility matrix →
11 · Transport
Calcium cyanide 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 cyanide under UN 1575 — 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 CYANIDE | 6.1 | T5 | I | |
Source: ADR 2025, Table A of Chapter 3.2 · ECE/TRANS/352 Vol. I (UNECE). Class 6.1 is “Toxic substances” (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 cyanide | 6.1 | I | |
Source: 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table · eCFR, revision 2026-08-03. Class 6.1 is “Poisonous materials” (49 CFR 173.2).
12 · Questions
Calcium cyanide — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Calcium cyanide?
The CAS number of Calcium cyanide is 592-01-8. Its EC number is 209-740-0.
What does a Calcium cyanide label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Calcium cyanide carries the pictograms Skull and crossbones and Environment and the signal word is Danger.
Is Calcium cyanide flammable?
CLP Annex VI assigns Calcium cyanide no flammability hazard class. That is not a statement that it cannot burn: the harmonised list only records the hazards that were assessed for it.
Is Calcium cyanide a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Calcium cyanide. 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.
What is the exposure limit for Calcium cyanide?
The US occupational exposure limit reported for Calcium cyanide is 5.0 [mg/m3], as CN (Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases). Limits differ by country: the EU sets its own indicative and binding values, and the figure that applies at a given workplace is the one in the local regulation.
What is the melting point of Calcium cyanide?
The melting point reported for Calcium cyanide is 350 °C (662 °F), above this value (HSDB).
How should Calcium cyanide be stored?
Store in cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Separate from acids, oxidizing materials. (Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB))
Nearby
Substances next to Calcium cyanide
Keep going: substances starting with C, or search the whole database by name, CAS number, pictogram or signal word.