Substance fact sheet
The background information page contains information and concepts that will be useful in understanding some of the issues surrounding the NPI. It is strongly recommended that you read this before reading the information presented below.
For an explanation of some of the terms used in this page, see the Glossary
| Substance name | Glutaraldehyde |
| CASR number | 111-30-8 |
| Molecular formula | C7H8 O2 |
| Synonyms | Pentanedial; glutaric dialdehyde; 1,3-diformylpropane; 1,5-pentanedial; glutaric aldehyde; glutaric acid dialdehyde; dioxopentane; glutardialdehyde; gluteraldehyde; 1,5-pentanedione; potentiated acid glutaraldehyde; |
Physical and chemical properties Physical properties: Glutaraldehyde is a colourless liquid, with a strong odour. Melting Point (°C): ) -6 Boiling Point (°C): 188 Specific Gravity: 1.06 Vapour Density: 3.4 Chemical properties: |
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Common uses The largest single use of glutaraldehyde is as an antimicrobial, bactericide, fungicide and a virucide. It is used to sterilize hospital and veterinary equipment, and to disinfect surfaces in hospitals, veterinary hospitals, nursing homes, and food processing plants. It is used to prevent bacterial growth in water supplies for washing air, cooler systems, logging ponds, and pulp and paper water systems. Smaller uses are as an embalming fluid, as a fixative for tissues, for film processing and leather tanning. |
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Sources of emissions Point sources The primary sources of glutaraldehyde are the industries that use it. Some of the industries that use it are crude oil and natural gas extraction, beverage manufacturers, hospitals and x-ray processing. These emissions mainly are to the air and water. Diffuse sources, and point sources included in aggregated emissions data Other possible emitters of glutaraldehyde are medical offices, veterinary clinics, water in cooling systems, food processing facilities, tanneries, household disinfectants and agriculture sanitising. Natural sources There is no known source of natural glutaraldehyde. Mobile sources No mobile sources. Consumer products which may contain Glutaraldehyde Agricultural chemicals (disinfecting, sterilising, sanitising, household disinfectants, and furniture polish |
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Health effects How might I be exposed to Glutaraldehyde? Workers in the industries that use glutaraldehyde (sanitising, disinfecting, sterilising, or other antimicrobial, antibacterial, fungicidal and virucidal activities) are at risk of exposure, by skin contact and inhalation. Consumers can be exposed to glutaraldehyde by exposure to products that had glutaraldehyde used on them, but had not been properly cleaned of glutaraldehyde. By what pathways might Glutaraldehyde enter my body? The most common routes of human exposure are inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact. Relative health hazard On a health hazard spectrum of 0 - 3 Glutaraldehyde registers 1.8. A score of 3 represents a very high hazard to health, 2 represents a medium hazard and 1 is harmful to health. Factors that are taken into account to obtain this ranking include the extent of the material's toxic or poisonous nature and/or its lack of toxicity, and the evaluation of its tendency to cause, or not cause cancer and/or birth defects. It does not take into account exposure to the substance. Human exposure is reflected in the NPI rank given to this substance (see comparative data below). A substance that scores highly as a health hazard is arsenic at 2.3 and one of the lowest scores is ammonia at 1.0.  Health guidelines Worksafe Australia: For glutaraldehyde, it is allowable for workers to be exposed to concentrations of 0.1 parts per million over an eight hour workshift. See the Additional Information page for current health information. The Australian NOHSC National Exposure Standards Database link is probably the most useful source of information. Note that the emissions data in the NPI database is not directly comparable with these guidelines. What effect might Glutaraldehyde have on my health? Short-term exposure to high levels of glutaraldehyde may result in sudden headaches and strong irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Ingestion may result in abdominal pains, cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea, and or a burning sensation in the chest. At very high doses vascular collapse and coma have occurred. People can become sensitised to glutaraldehyde; this is where after repeated exposures an allergic response occurs. Once sensitised, very low doses may cause a reaction. |
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Environmental effects Environmental Fate Much of glutaraldehyde releases are to water. In the water it fully dissolves and disperses. In the water it is broken down by bacteria (unless very high concentrations) within a few days. When glutaraldehyde is released to the air it is quickly reacted by photochemical processes to be broken down within hours. Since it is very water soluble, any unreacted material will be removed from the atmosphere by rain and fog Environmental Transport Industrial emissions of glutaraldehyde can produce elevated, concentrations in the atmosphere around the source. Because of its short life expectancy in the atmosphere glutaraldehyde is expected to be confined to the local area within which it is emitted. Glutaraldehyde that makes its way into the ground or water is degraded with in days. Most glutaraldehyde that is released to the water goes into a public sewage facility. At the public sewage facilities it is very diluted, and the microorganisms are able to digest it, with out any impact Relative hazard to the environment On an environmental spectrum of 0 - 3 Glutaraldehyde registers 1.5. A score of 3 represents a very high hazard to the environment and 0 a negligible hazard. Factors that are taken into account to obtain this ranking include the extent of the material's toxic or poisonous nature and/or its lack of toxicity, and the measure of its ability to remain active in the environment and whether it accumulates in living organisms. It does not take into exposure to the substance. Environmental exposure is reflected in the NPI rank for this substance (see comparative data below). A substance that scores highly as an environmental hazard is oxides of nitrogen at 3.0 and one of the lower scores is carbon monoxide at 0.8.  Environmental guidelines See the Additional Information page for current environmental guidelines. No national guidelines. What effect might Glutaraldehyde have on the environment? Glutaraldehyde is moderately toxic to aquatic animals and moderately to highly toxic to algae. Due to its short life in the environment, glutaraldehyde has minimal impact on the environment. |
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Comparative data NPI Rank Approximately 400 substances were considered for inclusion on the NPI reporting list. A risk ranking was given based on health and environmental hazard identification and human and environmental exposure to the substance. Some substances were grouped together at the same rank with 208 ranks in total. Glutaraldehyde was ranked as 15 out of the 208 ranks. Total hazard score (human health + environmental criteria) = 3.3.  |
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Sources of information used in preparing this fact sheet
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