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Boron oxide dust

Fine boron oxide powder or dust encountered in occupational handling and processing.

Airborne form

dust

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

eye irritationupper respiratory tract irritationskin irritationmucous-membrane injury

Evidence

The current NIOSH Pocket Guide identifies boron oxide as a hard white crystal or lump form and reports eye, skin, and respiratory irritation, cough, conjunctivitis, and skin redness after exposure.

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Exposure Limits; Physical Description; Exposure Routes; Symptoms · 1
Physical Description Colorless, semitransparent lumps or hard, white, odorless crystals. Exposure Routes inhalation, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms irritation eyes, skin, respiratory system; cough; conjunctivitis; skin erythema (skin redness).

NIOSH reports that boron oxide dust causes eye and upper respiratory tract irritation as well as skin irritation, and considers these effects material impairments of health.

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Health effects · 1
Boron oxide dust is not an inert substance; it causes eye and upper respiratory tract irritation as well as skin irritation. OSHA finds that these health effects constitute material impairments of health.

The NIOSH Pocket Guide lists inhalation, ingestion, and skin or eye contact as boron-oxide exposure routes and identifies eye, skin, and respiratory-system irritation, cough, conjunctivitis, and skin redness as symptoms.

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Exposure Routes / Symptoms / Target Organs · 1
Exposure Routes inhalation, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact. Symptoms irritation eyes, skin, respiratory system; cough; conjunctivitis; skin erythema (skin redness). Target Organs Eyes, skin, respiratory system.

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