RT Report
T1 Phosphine and Selected Metal Phosphides: Environmental Health Criteria 73
A1 United Nations Environment Programme, 
A1 World Health Organization, 
A1 International Labour Organisation, 
K1 environmental health
K1 chemical
K1 metal
K1 terrestrial ecosystem
K1 aquatic ecology
K1 micro-organism
K1 aluminium
K1 magnesium
K1 zinc
SN 92 4 154273 X
YR 1988
FD 1988
LK https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/29370
UL https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/29370
NO Phosphine, or hydrogen phosphide, is a colourless gas which is odourless when pure, but the technical product usually has a foul odour, described as "fishy or "garlicky", because of the presence of substituted phosphines and diphosphine (P2H4). Other impurities may be methane, araine, hydrogen, and nitrogen. For fumigation, it is produced at the Site by hydrolysis of a metal phosphide and supplied in cylinders either as pure phosphine or diluted with nitrogen. Aluminium, magnesium (trimagnesium diphosphide) , and zinc (trizinc diphosphide) phosphides are the most commonly used metal phosphides for this purpose.
DS UN Environment Document Repository
RD Sep 16, 2026