Substance profile
Calcium hydride
Calcium hydride is gray orthorhombic crystals or powder.
01 · Identification
What Calcium hydride is
Calcium hydride is gray orthorhombic crystals or powder. It is practically insoluble in water.
Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger. It is classed as flammable agents - 3rd degree.
02 · Identifiers
Calcium hydride identifiers and molecular data
Calcium hydride CAS number and EC number
Calcium hydride molecular formula and molecular weight
03 · GHS classification
Calcium hydride hazard classification
Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.
Calcium hydride pictograms and signal word
Calcium hydride 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 hydride 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 hydride. 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 hydride
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 hydride 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 hydride precautionary statements
CLP Annex VI assigns 4 precautionary statements to Calcium hydride. 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 hydride 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 хидрид |
| Spanish español | Hidruro de calcio |
| Czech čeština | hydrid vápenatý |
| Danish dansk | calciumhydrid |
| German Deutsch | Calciumhydrid |
| Estonian eesti | kaltsiumhüdriid |
| Greek ελληνικά | υδρίδιο του ασβεστίου |
| English English | calcium hydride |
| French français | hydrure de calcium |
| Croatian hrvatski | kalcijev hidrid |
| Italian italiano | idruro di calcio |
| Latvian latviešu | kalcija hidrīds |
| Lithuanian lietuvių | kalcio hidridas |
| Hungarian magyar | kálcium-hidrid |
| Maltese Malti | idrur tal-kalċju |
| Dutch Nederlands | calciumhydride |
| Polish polski | wodorek wapnia diwodorek wapnia |
| Portuguese português | hidreto de cálcio |
| Romanian română | hidrură de calciu |
| Slovak slovenčina | hydrid vápenatý |
| Slovenian slovenščina | kalcijev hidrid |
| Finnish suomi | kalsiumhydridi |
| Swedish svenska | kalciumhydrid |
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 hydride GHS label elements
Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Calcium hydride, laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.
Danger
Calcium hydride
- 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 hydride in the GHS label constructor →
07 · Health hazards
Calcium hydride health hazards and exposure limits
Calcium hydride hazard summary
Decomposed by water evolving hydrogen; [Merck Index] Reacts violently or is ignited by air; Reacts exothermically with water producing hydrogen and calcium hydroxide; A skin and eye irritant; [CAMEO] Releases flammable gases on contact with water; May cause irritation; [Alfa Aesar MSDS] See Sodium hydride. See Calcium hydroxide.
Source: Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases
08 · Physical and chemical properties
Calcium hydride 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 hydride density
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Density | 1.7 g/cm³ | HSDB | |
| 1.7 g/cm³ | at 25 °C | DOE PAC |
Calcium hydride solubility
| Property | Value | Conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solubility | Insoluble in all common inert solvents | HSDB |
Values compiled from PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary. Temperatures converted to Fahrenheit for reference.
09 · Handling and storage
Calcium hydride storage and handling
Calcium hydride incompatible materials
Extremely reactive or incompatible with moisture. The product reacts violently with water to emit flammable but non toxic gases.
Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Calcium hydride reactivity
When silver fluoride is ground with CALCIUM HYDRIDE the mass becomes incandescent [Mellor 3:389 1946-47]. Heating the hydride strongly with chlorine, bromine, or iodine leads to incandescence. Mixtures of the hydride with various bromates, i.e. barium bromate; chlorates, i.e. barium chlorate, and perchlorates, i.e. potassium perchlorate; explode on grinding, [Mellor, 1946, vol. 3, 651]. CaH2 reacts incandescently with AgF if subject to friction. (Mellor, 1941, Vol. 3, 389, 651).
Source: CAMEO Chemicals
Planning storage for a mix of chemicals? Check Calcium hydride in the storage compatibility matrix →
10 · Transport
Calcium hydride 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 hydride under UN 1404 — 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 HYDRIDE | 4.3 | W2 | I | |
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 hydride | 4.3 | I | |
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).
11 · Questions
Calcium hydride — frequently asked questions
What is the CAS number of Calcium hydride?
The CAS number of Calcium hydride is 7789-78-8. Its EC number is 232-189-2.
What does a Calcium hydride label have to show?
Under CLP Annex VI the label for Calcium hydride carries the pictogram Flame and the signal word is Danger.
Is Calcium hydride flammable?
Yes. CLP Annex VI assigns Calcium hydride H260 — in contact with water releases flammable gases which may ignite spontaneously.
Is Calcium hydride a carcinogen?
CLP Annex VI records no harmonised carcinogenicity classification for Calcium hydride. 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 hydride
Keep going: substances starting with C, or search the whole database by name, CAS number, pictogram or signal word.