Page 168 - Encyclopedia of Chemical Compounds 3 Vols

BORIC ACID

Interesting Facts

• The most common sources • Boric acid was once used
of boric acid are hot as an ingredient in talcum
springs and volcanic sites and diaper powders and in
such as the mineral salves for diaper rashes
springs at Vichy and because of its antiseptic
Aix-la-Chapelle in France properties. The compound
and Wiesbaden in was eventually banned for
Germany, around the such uses, however, when
volcanic regions of regulators decided that it
Tuscany in Italy, and in was too toxic if it acci-
dry lakes of California dentally entered the body
and Nevada, such as through an open wound or
California’s Borax Lake. by being swallowed.

COMMON USES AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS
By far the greatest amount of boric acid is used in the
production of heat-resistant (borosilicate) glass, glass fibers,
porcelain enamels, crockery, laboratory glassware, and other
specialized types of glass and ceramic materials. In 2004,
about 80 percent of all the boric acid used in the United
States was applied to these purposes. Although accounting
for a much smaller amount of boric acid, another well-known
use of the compound is as an antiseptic in eyewashes, oint-
ments, and mouthwashes. It is also used as a preservative in
foods and as a fungicide on citrus fruit crops. In the United
States, a residue of no more than 8 parts per million is
permitted on fruits treated with boric acid.

Some other important applications of boric acid include
the following:
• In the production of flame retardant materials;

• As a pesticide for the treatment of cockroaches, black
carpet beatles, termites, fleas, fire ants, centipedes,
grasshoppers, and slugs;
• As a flux in welding and brazing;
• In the synthesis of many boron compounds;

CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS 117