Key Points

Fire

• Flammable
• Reacts with strong acids and strong oxidisers
• Emits acrid smoke and fumes when heated to decomposition. Complete combustion forms carbon dioxide, but carbon monoxide if insufficient oxygen is available
• In the event of a fire involving xylene, use normal foam and normal fire kit with breathing apparatus

Health

• Toxic by all routes of exposure
• CHIP classification: harmful
• Inhalation may cause irritation of nose, throat and lungs
• Ingestion causes irritation of the mouth and throat 
• Severe inhalation or ingestion exposure can cause dizziness, headache, confusion, heart problems, liver and kidney damage and coma
• Irritating to the skin and eyes
• Long-term inhalation exposure can cause dryness and irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, nausea, anorexia, headaches, tiredness and irritability
• There is no convincing evidence that xylene can cause cancer in humans

Environment

• Avoid release into the environment
• Inform the Environment Agency of substantial releases

 

All sections of the compendia are available to download:

• Xylene - General Information (PDF, 38 KB)
• Incident Management (PDF, 95 KB)