Formic Acid By Tianjin Zhijingweiye Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd.

The principal danger from formic acid is from skin or eye contact with liquid formic acid or with the concentrated vapors. Any of these exposure routes can cause severe chemical burns and eye exposure can result in permanent eye damage. Inhaled vapors may similarly cause irritation or burns in the respiratory tract. Care should be taken wherever large quantities of formic acid fumes are present as carbon monoxide may also be present in formic acid vapors. The US OSHA Permissible Exposure Level (PEL) of formic acid vapor in the work environment is 5 parts per million parts of air (ppm).
Formic acid is readily metabolized and eliminated by the body. Nonetheless, it has specific
toxic effects; the formic acid and formaldehyde produced as metabolites of methanol are
responsible for the optic nerve damage causing blindness seen in methanol poisoning. Some chronic effects of formic acid exposure have been documented. Some animal experiments have demonstrated it to be a mutagen, and chronic exposure may cause liver or kidney damage. Another affect of chronic exposure is development of a skin allergy that manifests upon re-exposure to the chemical.
Concentrated formic acid slowly decomposes to carbon monoxide and water, leading to pressure buildup in the container it is kept in. For this reason 98% formic acid is shipped in plastic bottles with self-venting caps.