Periodic Table of Elements

Element Phosphorus - P

Comprehensive data on the chemical element Phosphorus is provided on this page; including scores of properties, element names in many languages, most known nuclides of Phosphorus. Common chemical compounds are also provided for many elements. In addition technical terms are linked to their definitions and the menu contains links to related articles that are a great aid in one's studies.

Phosphorus Menu

Overview of Phosphorus

Phosphorus's Name in Other Languages

  • Latin: Phosphorus
  • Czech: Fosfor
  • Croatian: Fosfor
  • French: Phosphore
  • German: Phosphor - r
  • Italian: Fosforo
  • Norwegian: Fosfor
  • Portuguese: Fósforo
  • Russian: Фосфор
  • Spanish: Fósforo
  • Swedish: Fosfor

Atomic Structure of Phosphorus

Chemical Properties of Phosphorus

Physical Properties of Phosphorus

Regulatory / Health

  • CAS Number
    • 7723-14-0
  • UN/NA ID and ERG Guide Number
  • RTECS: TH3500000
  • OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)
  • OSHA PEL Vacated 1989
  • NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL)
  • Routes of Exposure: Inhalation; Ingestion; Skin and/or eye contact
  • Target Organs: Eyes, skin, respiratory system, liver, kidneys, jaw, teeth, blood
  • Levels In Humans:
    Note: this data represents naturally occuring levels of elements in the typical human, it DOES NOT represent recommended daily allowances.
    • Blood/mg dm-3: 345
    • Bone/p.p.m: 67000-71000
    • Liver/p.p.m: 3-8.5
    • Muscle/p.p.m: 3000-8500
    • Daily Dietary Intake: 900-1900 mg
    • Total Mass In Avg. 70kg human: 780 g

Who / Where / When / How

  • Discoverer: Hennig Brand
  • Discovery Location: Hamburg Germany
  • Discovery Year: 1669
  • Name Origin:
    Greek: phôs (light) and phoros (bearer).
  • Abundance of Phosphorus:
    • Earth's Crust/p.p.m.: 1000
    • Seawater/p.p.m.:
      • Atlantic Suface: 0.0015
      • Atlantic Deep: 0.042
      • Pacific Surface: 0.0015
      • Pacific Deep: 0.084
    • Atmosphere/p.p.m.: N/A
    • Sun (Relative to H=1E12): 316000
  • Sources of Phosphorus:
    Found most often in phosphate rock. Annual world wide production is around 153,000,000 tons. Primary mining areas are Russia, USA, Morocco, Tunisia, Tongo and Nauru.
  • Uses of Phosphorus:
    Used in the production of fertilizers, fireworks, matches, pesticides, toothpaste and detergents.
  • Additional Notes:
    White phosphorus is much more toxic than red phosphorus. Necrosis of the jaw, also called phossy-jaw, is caused by chronic exposure to white phosphorus.

Phosphorus Menu

References

A list of reference sources used to compile the data provided on our periodic table of elements can be found on the main periodic table page.

Related Resources

Citing this page

If you need to cite this page, you can copy this text: