While the impurities in acetylene can be toxic and even fatal, pure acetylene is of a very low toxicity (not counting the "narcotic" effects). Up to 80 percent, (v / v) acetylene has been administered to surgical patients as a general anaesthetic. The trade name for acetylene was "narcylene."
The safe limit for acetylene therefore is 101 kPa gage, or 15 psig. [58][59] Additionally, if acetylene is initiated by intense heat or a shockwave, it can decompose explosively if the absolute pressure of the gas exceeds about 200 kilopascals (29 psi).
acetylene, the simplest and best-known member of the hydrocarbon series containing one or more pairs of carbon atoms linked by triple bonds, called the acetylenic series, or alkynes.
On , acetylene flowed into the lime shed at Acetylene Services Company (ASCO), a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, acetylene manufacturer and packager. This resulted in an explosion, which killed three workers and seriously injured a fourth.
It reacts with silver, copper and lead to form sensitive, explosive salts. Since acetylene is endothermic and effectively a reducing agent, its reaction with oxidants can be very violent (examples: calcium hypochlorite, nitric acid, nitrogen oxide, ozone, trifluoromethyl hypofluorite, etc.).
Exposure Limits NIOSH REL C 2500 ppm (2662 mg/m 3) OSHA PEL none Measurement Methods NIOSH Acetylene Crit. Doc. See: NMAM or OSHA Methods Physical Description
Acetylene was the primary building block for industrial organic chemistry before the widespread adoption of oil as the main feedstock. The calcium carbide process exclusively dominated acetylene production until the 1940s, when thermal cracking methods utilizing methane and other hydrocarbons emerged.
Cavell and Allison, 1978 Cavell, R.G.; Allison, D.A., Photoelectron spectra of acetylene with He (I), He (II) , Zr M175»{zeta}, MgK»α radiation sources, J. Chem. Phys., 1978, 69, 159. [all data]