Safety and Handling

170x115_tanker1Technical and Quality Leadership

For more than 80 years, Honeywell has been the leader in boron trifluoride (BF3) technology. In North America, we have the technical service professionals you need to answer your safety, transportation and product usage questions. We can provide specialized product knowledge and expertise in order to help you properly use BF3.

BF3 gas is irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes, and highly suffocating and irritating to the respiratory system. It can cause thermal or chemical burns, which are caused by fluoroboric acid that is formed when BF3 reacts with moisture on the skin. Some safety precautions include:

  • Wear chemical goggles and acid-resistant gloves at all times
  • If there is a possibility of skin contact, personnel should wear full acid-resistant protective clothing
  • Use a full face respirator with supplied or self-contained air for prolonged exposure
  • Acid mist respirators should be used when exposed to nuisance levels of BF3
  • Food, tobacco, and beverages will absorb BF3, so their usage should be prohibited around it
  • If contact occurs, immediately flush the area with water for at least 15 minutes. Get immediate medical attention

Any person responsible for the procurement, transport, use or disposal of BF3 gas or complexes should familiarize themselves, and any other person that handles them, with the safety and handling precautions above. Because complexes can have unique behavioral characteristics, please reach out to our technical service team to ensure you have the appropriate safety and handling information.

Customers can log in or sign up for access to our technical service resources, or contact us to learn more about our technical service offerings.

Honeywell offers high-purity BF3.

BF3 MEGC (Multiple Element Gas Container)

BF3 is also shipped as a compressed gas in tubes in MEGCs. Each MEGC contains 7 tubes:

Capabilities and Dimensions of BF3 Tubes
Net Weight of Gas
Number of Tubes
(L x W x H)
15,500-16,000 lbs. 7 40’9″ X 8′ X 8’5″

Complex Packaging

BF3 complexes are available in 77 lbs. pails and 440 lbs. drums.

Customers can log in or sign up for access to our technical service resources, or contact us to learn more about our technical service offerings.

Our technical service team is constantly looking for ways to make the use of BF3 safer, easier and more effective. We provide our customers with specialized product knowledge and expertise in the safe handling and use of BF3. In addition to safety, medical treatment and BF3 emergency response seminars, we offer a full range of training and consulting on using and handling BF3:

  • Personal protective equipment
  • Process hazard analyses and process safety
  • Waste handling
  • Risk minimization options and risk management issues
  • Engineering design and review of handling and processing systems
  • Operational procedure development
  • Analytical support and process troubleshooting
  • Regulatory and compliance
  • Environmental control and compliance

Customers can log in or sign up for access to our technical service resources, or contact us to learn more about our technical service offerings.