Provenance

Reference data from EU CLP Annex VI and published regulations — verify against your supplier's SDS before use.

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Substance profile

Urethane (INN)

Urethane (INN) is colorless, columnar crystals or white, granular powder and is odorless.

CAS 51-79-6 C3H7NO2 89.09 g/mol Danger

01 · Identification

What Urethane (INN) is

Urethane (INN) is colorless, columnar crystals or white, granular powder and is odorless. Its molecular formula is C3H7NO2 and its molecular weight is 89.09 g/mol. It boils at 185 °C, melts at 49 °C, is soluble in water.

Under the GHS it carries the signal word Danger. It is classed as hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs).

02 · Identifiers

Urethane (INN) identifiers and molecular data

Urethane (INN) CAS number and EC number

CAS number51-79-6
EC number200-123-1
Index number (CLP Annex VI)607-149-00-6

Urethane (INN) molecular formula and molecular weight

Molecular formulaC3H7NO2
Molecular weight89.09 g/mol
Chemical class Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs)

Other names for Urethane (INN)

  • ethyl carbamate

03 · GHS classification

Urethane (INN) hazard classification

Harmonised classification under CLP Annex VI. This is the legally binding classification in the EU; other jurisdictions may differ.

Urethane (INN) pictograms and signal word

Signal wordDanger

Urethane (INN) hazard class and category

GHS hazard classes Urethane (INN) falls into
Hazard class Category From code Pictogram
Carcinogenicity GHS chapter 3.6 Category 1A or 1B H350 GHS08

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.

Urethane (INN) hazard statements (H-codes)

Hazard statements assigned to Urethane (INN)
CodeHazard statement
H350 May cause cancer <state route of exposure if it is conclusively proven that no other routes of exposure cause the hazard>.

This page lists only the codes assigned to Urethane (INN). 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 Urethane (INN)

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 Urethane (INN) 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

Urethane (INN) precautionary statements

CLP Annex VI assigns 4 precautionary statements to Urethane (INN). 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.

Response

What to do once exposure, spillage or fire has already happened.

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

Urethane (INN) 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 уретан (INN) етилов карбамат
Spanish español Uretano (DCI) carbamato de etilo
Czech čeština urethan (INN) ethyl-karbamát
Danish dansk urethan (INN) ethylcarbamat
German Deutsch Urethan (INN) Ethylcarbamat
Estonian eesti uretaan (INN) etüülkarbamaat
Greek ελληνικά urethane (ουρεθάνη) (INN) καρβαμιδικός αιθυλεστέραςκαρβαμιδικό αιθύλιο
English English urethane (INN) ethyl carbamate
French français uréthane (INN) carbamate d'éthyle
Croatian hrvatski uretan (INN) etil-karbamat
Italian italiano uretano (DCI) carbammato di etile
Latvian latviešu uretāns (INN) etilkarbamāts
Lithuanian lietuvių uretanas (INN) etilkarbamatas
Hungarian magyar uretán (INN) etil-karbamát
Maltese Malti uretan (INN) karbamat tal-etil
Dutch Nederlands urethaan (INN) ethylcarbamaat
Polish polski uretan (INN) karbaminian etylukarbamian etyluuretan etylu
Portuguese português uretano (DCI) carbamato de etilo
Romanian română uretan (DCI) carbamat de etil
Slovak slovenčina uretán (INN) etyl-karbamát
Slovenian slovenščina uretan (INN) etil karbamat
Finnish suomi uretaani (INN) etyylikarbamaatti
Swedish svenska uretan (INN) etylkarbamat

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

Urethane (INN) GHS label elements

Everything CLP Annex VI fixes for Urethane (INN), laid out the way it appears on a label. The greyed lines are the parts only the supplier can fill in.

GHS08 Health hazard pictogram

Danger

Urethane (INN)

  • May cause cancer <state route of exposure if it is conclusively proven that no other routes of exposure cause the hazard>.
  • Obtain special instructions before use.
  • Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection/hearing protection/
  • IF exposed or concerned:
  • Get medical advice/attention.

Supplier name, address and telephone number· Product identifier·Nominal quantity

Need this as an actual label? Open Urethane (INN) in the GHS label constructor →

07 · Health hazards

Urethane (INN) health hazards and exposure limits

Urethane (INN) hazard summary

Ethyl carbamate is used as an intermediate in the synthesis of a number of chemicals. Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to high levels of ethyl carbamate may result in injury to the kidneys and liver and induce vomiting, coma, or hemorrhages. No information is available on the chronic (long-term), reproductive, or developmental effects of ethyl carbamate in humans. An increased incidence of lung tumors has been observed in rodents exposed to ethyl carbamate by oral or inhalation exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classifed ethyl carbamate as a Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans.

Source: EPA Hazardous Air Pollutants

Urethane (INN) carcinogenicity classification

IARC classification Group 2A — Probably carcinogenic to humans
IARC monographs Volume 7: (1974) Some Anti-thyroid and Related Substances, Nitrofurans and Industrial Chemicals; Volume 96: (2010) Alcohol Consumption and Ethyl Carbamate

Under the conditions of this 2-year drinking water study, there was clear evidence of carcinogenic activity of urethane in male B6C3F 1 mice based on increased incidences of liver, lung, harderian gland, skin and forestomach neoplasms and of hemangiosarcoma, primarily of the liver and heart. There was clear evidence of carcinogenic activity of urethane in female B6C3F 1 mice based on increased incidences of liver, lung, harderian gland, mammary gland, and ovarian neoplasms and of hemangiosarcoma, primarily of the liver and spleen. The occurrences of hemangiosarcoma of the spleen in males and of the uterus and skin in females may have been exposure related.

Source: US National Toxicology Program · TR-510: Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Urethane + Ethanol (CASRNs 51-79-6 & 64-17-5) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Drinking Water Studies) (2004 )

Classification of carcinogenicity: 1) evidence in humans: no data; 2) evidence in animals: sufficient. Overall summary evaluation of carcinogenic risk to humans is Group 2B: The agent is possibly carcinogenic to humans. /From table/

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

Urethane: reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

An IARC group and a CLP classification answer different questions. IARC judges whether the evidence for cancer in humans is strong enough; CLP Annex VI is the legally binding EU classification. A substance can carry one and not the other.

08 · Physical and chemical properties

Urethane (INN) 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.

Urethane (INN) boiling point

Property Value Conditions Source
Boiling point 185 °C (365 °F) HSDB
183.06 °C (361.5 °F) range, midpoint shown, at 760 mmHg CAMEO

Urethane (INN) melting point

Property Value Conditions Source
Melting point 49 °C (120.2 °F) HSDB

Urethane (INN) density

Property Value Conditions Source
Density 0.9813 g/cm³ HSDB
0.98 g/cm³ ICSC
0.9862 g/cm³ at 21.11 °C CAMEO

Urethane (INN) solubility

Property Value Conditions Source
Solubility Soluble in benzene HSDB
1g dissolves in 0.8 mL alcohol; 1.5 mL ether; 0.9 mL chloroform; 2.5 mL glycerol; 32 mL olive oil HSDB
greater than or equal to 100 mg/mL at 72 °F (NTP, 1992) at 22.22 °C CAMEO

Urethane (INN) vapor pressure

Property Value Conditions Source
Vapor pressure 0.0375 mmHg at 20 °C ICSC
0.262 mmHg at 25 °C HSDB
0.36 mmHg at 25 °C DOE PAC

Urethane (INN) flash point

Property Value Conditions Source
Flash point 92.22 °C (198 °F) CAMEO
92 °C (197.6 °F) ICSC

Urethane (INN) vapor density

Property Value Conditions Source
Vapor density 3.07 (air = 1) HSDB
3.1 (air = 1) ICSC

Values compiled from PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary. Temperatures converted to Fahrenheit for reference.

09 · Fire and explosion

Urethane (INN) 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.

Urethane (INN) fire potential

Combustible

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

10 · Handling and storage

Urethane (INN) storage and handling

Urethane (INN) storage conditions

... Should be stored in cool, well ventilated place, out of direct rays of sun, away from areas of high fire hazard, & should be periodically inspected & monitored. Incompatible materials should be isolated from each other.

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

Urethane (INN) incompatible materials

This intermediate /N-carbomethoxymethylimino phosphoryl chloride/ (or its ethyl homologue), produced during prepn of phosphoryl dichloride isocyanate from interaction of phosphorus pentachloride & methyl (or ethyl) carbamate, is unstable. Its decomposition to the required product may be violent or explosive unless moderated by the presence of a halogenated solvent.

Source: Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)

Urethane (INN) reactivity

URETHANE is incompatible with alkalis, acids, chloral hydrate, camphor, menthol and thymol. Also incompatible with antipyrine and salol. May react with strong oxidizing agents. Liquefies with benzoic acid, resorcinol and salicylic acid. Reacts with phosphorus pentachloride to form an explosive product (NTP, 1992).

Source: CAMEO Chemicals

Planning storage for a mix of chemicals? Check Urethane (INN) in the storage compatibility matrix →

11 · Questions

Urethane (INN) — frequently asked questions

What is the CAS number of Urethane (INN)?

The CAS number of Urethane (INN) is 51-79-6. Its EC number is 200-123-1.

What is the chemical formula of Urethane (INN)?

The molecular formula of Urethane (INN) is C3H7NO2 and its molecular weight is 89.09 g/mol.

What does a Urethane (INN) label have to show?

Under CLP Annex VI the label for Urethane (INN) carries the pictogram Health hazard and the signal word is Danger.

Is Urethane (INN) flammable?

CLP Annex VI assigns Urethane (INN) 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. The flash point reported for it is 92.22 °C (198 °F) (CAMEO).

Is Urethane (INN) a carcinogen?

Yes. CLP Annex VI classifies Urethane (INN) as a category 1A or 1B carcinogen and assigns it H350: may cause cancer. IARC places it in Group 2A: probably carcinogenic to humans.

What is the boiling point of Urethane (INN)?

The boiling point reported for Urethane (INN) is 185 °C (365 °F) (HSDB).

What is the melting point of Urethane (INN)?

The melting point reported for Urethane (INN) is 49 °C (120.2 °F) (HSDB).

How should Urethane (INN) be stored?

... Should be stored in cool, well ventilated place, out of direct rays of sun, away from areas of high fire hazard, & should be periodically inspected & monitored. Incompatible materials should be isolated from each other. (Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB))

Nearby

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