Silver Nitrate - Safety

Safety

As an oxidant, silver nitrate should be properly stored away from organic compounds. Despite being used in low concentrations to prevent gonorrhea and control nose bleeds, silver nitrate is toxic and corrosive. Brief exposure to the chemical will not produce immediate or even any side effects other than the purple, brown or black skin stains; but with more exposure, side effects will become more noticeable, including burns. Long-term exposure may cause eye damage. Short contact can lead to deposition of black silver stains on the skin. Besides being very destructive of mucous membranes, it is a skin and eye irritant.

Although silver nitrate is currently not regulated in water sources by the Environmental Protection Agency, when between 1-5 g of silver have accumulated in the body, a condition called argyria can develop. Argyria is a permanent cosmetic condition in which the skin and internal organs turn a blue-gray color. The United States Environmental Protection Agency had a maximum contaminant limit for silver in water until 1990, but upon determination that argyria did not impact the function of organs affected, removed the regulation. Argyria is more often associated with the consumption of colloidal silver solutions than with silver nitrate, especially at the extremely low concentrations present for the disinfection of water. However, it is still important to consider before ingesting any sort of silver-ion solution.