potassium (CAS 7440-09-7) — Safety Data Sheet

Import documentation for CAS 7440-09-7 (potassium), compiled from the binding classification rather than from a supplier’s summary. The product is the document.

potassium (CAS 7440-09-7) at a glance

• Substance – potassium
• CAS number – 7440-09-7
• EC number – 231-119-8
• CLP Annex VI index number – 019-[CAS?]
• Hazard statements – H260; H314 (causes severe skin burns and eye damage); EUH014
• Hazard classes – Water-react. 1, Skin Corr. 1B
• Label pictograms – GHS02, GHS05
• Signal word – Danger
• Entry current as of – CLP00
• CMR classification – not classified as CMR in the harmonised entry
• Documentation issued – safety data sheet in REACH Annex II structure; working draft or signed card
• What is supplied – a document. MolGod.org does not sell, supply or ship chemical substances.

Storage and handling in the document

A stores manager handling CAS 7440-09-7 reads section 7 before anything else: what it may be kept next to, what atmosphere it needs, and whether the classification triggers a segregation rule. Those answers have to be in the document, not in a supplier email.

What do customs check when importing potassium?

When a consignment of potassium is stopped at the border, the document examined first is rarely the invoice. It is section 14 of the safety data sheet and its agreement with the transport papers. A missing packing group, an absent UN number or a proper shipping name that contradicts the classification of CAS 7440-09-7 will hold the pallet regardless of how complete the remaining fifteen sections are.

Accidental release and containment

Section 6 addresses the accidental release of potassium, outlining personal precautions, environmental precautions, and containment methods. When the classification indicates an aquatic hazard, the environmental precautions section transitions from a mere formality to a critical instruction that must be rigorously followed.

What is the EC number for potassium?

Alongside CAS 7440-09-7, this substance carries EC number 231-119-8 and Annex VI index 019-[CAS?]. European documentation is built around the EC number as often as around the CAS: registration dossiers, the candidate list and customs systems key on it. A safety data sheet quoting only one of the two forces every downstream reader to look up the other.

Documentation demand on the EU market

CAS 7440-09-7 has a recorded presence on the European trading market, which means documentation for it is requested routinely rather than exceptionally. Substances that move in commerce attract repeat scrutiny: the same sheet is read by successive customers, carriers and authorities, and a defect that survives the first reading rarely survives the tenth.

Identifiers that must agree

Identity verification must be conducted prior to hazard assessment. If discrepancies exist between the label, safety data sheet, and certificate regarding the CAS 7440-09-7 number or if the index 019-[CAS?] refers to a location where the name does not match, a reviewer will lose trust in all three documents simultaneously, despite their internal consistency. This is because inconsistencies among these key documentation elements undermine their reliability as a unified source of information.

What is the UN number for potassium?

For carriage, potassium is assigned UN 2257, transport class 4.3, packing group I. These entries belong in section 14 of the safety data sheet and must match the shipping papers exactly. A consignment where the sheet and the transport document disagree on the UN number is stopped before anyone reads the remaining fifteen sections.

Where is regulatory status recorded for potassium?

Section 15 records regulatory status for potassium: whether it appears on the candidate list, whether it is subject to authorisation or restriction, and any national provisions. Downstream users ask this question routinely, and a sheet that answers it saves an exchange of emails per customer.

First-aid content and why it is read first

Section 4 covers first-aid measures for potassium by route of exposure: inhalation, skin, eye and ingestion, each answered separately. Generic advice to ‘seek medical attention’ in all four is the most common defect, and it is the one that matters at the moment somebody needs the sheet.

How do I check if my SDS for potassium is still valid?

If a sheet for potassium is already in circulation, the useful first question is not whether to replace it but whether it is wrong, and if so in which section. Defects repeat across a catalogue, so three documents usually reveal what three hundred need.

What is the CLP classification of potassium?

The harmonised classification for CAS 7440-09-7 carries 3 hazard statements: H260, H314, EUH014. In plain terms this means H260; causes severe skin burns and eye damage; EUH014. A harmonised entry is binding across the Union — an importer may not soften it, and a self-classification that diverges from it will not survive an enforcement check.

What must the label for potassium contain?

The supply label for potassium is generated from the same classification that drives the safety data sheet: pictograms selected by precedence, one signal word derived from the highest hazard class present, and the hazard statements H260, H314, EUH014 reproduced in full. Where the container is too small to carry the complete set at a legible size, there are lawful ways to handle it and unlawful ones that look identical to a non-specialist.

Purity, certificates and what the sheet does not say

The purity grade is determined by a certificate of analysis rather than a safety data sheet. The safety data sheet for potassium provides information about the substance itself, while a certificate of analysis specifically details a particular batch, including measured results against the specification and the analytical method used for each parameter. Laboratories typically request both documents when they refer to ‘the COA’.

How is potassium classified for road, sea and air transport?

Carriers and forwarders handling potassium must review section 14 in relation to the shipping documents prior to loading. If there are discrepancies, the shipment should be halted at the location where rectification would incur the highest cost.

In which language must the SDS for potassium be supplied?

Language is a compliance question, not a convenience one. Wherever potassium reaches a customer, the receiving Member State may require the sheet in its own official language, and several do so without exception. An English original that satisfies an auditor in one country can be refused at the next border, with the content untouched and the fault lying entirely in which words it is written in.

Why a correct sheet stops being correct

Classification under CLP moves with each Adaptation to Technical Progress. A sheet for CAS 7440-09-7 written before the amendment that touched its entry keeps stating a classification the register no longer holds. Nothing in the document announces this — it reads exactly as it did on the day it was issued, which is precisely why revision dates are checked before content.

Which GHS pictograms apply to potassium?

The label for potassium carries GHS02 (flame), GHS05 (corrosion), with the signal word Danger. These are not chosen by the supplier: CLP Annex VI states them for CAS 7440-09-7, and the precedence rules in Annex I decide which pictogram is dropped when two would say the same thing. A label showing a different set from the register is wrong even if every hazard statement on it is correct.

Can I import potassium into the EU?

The introduction of potassium into the Union necessitates the preparation of documentation prior to logistical arrangements. The documentation file must be available at the time of import, not merely upon request; for this purpose, substances listed in CLP Annex VI is assessed within the context of regulated consignments. Index 019-[CAS?] establishes the classification that Section 2 must reflect accordingly.

Questions about documentation for potassium

What hazard statements apply to CAS 7440-09-7?

The harmonised entry lists H260, H314, EUH014. These are binding across the Union and may not be softened by a self-classification.

In which language must the sheet be supplied?

In an official language of each Member State where potassium is placed on the market, unless that State has stated otherwise.

Can I check whether my existing sheet is still valid?

Yes. A section-by-section reading against Annex II and the current harmonised entry establishes that in one pass, and a sheet that passes is reported as passing.

Do I need a safety data sheet to import potassium into the EU?

Yes. A sheet compiled to Annex II of REACH must exist before the first consignment moves, and it must be held by the entity placing the substance on the Union market.

MolGod.org issues documentation and does not sell, supply or ship chemical substances. CAS 7440-09-7 identifies the subject of this document.