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Dry Ice Tip Sheet

Dry Ice Safety

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide (CO2). It is commonly supplied as pellets, slices, or blocks and is used to cool materials and refrigerate shipments. Dry ice is nonflammable, but it can cause severe cold injury, create dangerous carbon dioxide concentrations, and pressurize sealed containers.

Contact your Department Safety Representative or askEHS@cornell.edu before beginning work if you have questions about ventilation, storage, transport, or shipment.

Required shipping training must be completed before preparing or offering a package containing dry ice for transport. See Instructions for Enrolling in DOT Certificate Training.

Hazards

Extreme cold

Dry ice has a surface temperature of approximately -109 °F (-78.5 °C). Direct contact can rapidly freeze skin or eye tissue and cause severe cold injury.

Carbon dioxide accumulation

Dry ice sublimates directly from a solid to carbon dioxide gas. One pound of dry ice produces approximately 250 liters (8.8 cubic feet) of gas.

Carbon dioxide can accumulate in enclosed, poorly ventilated, or low-lying areas. Elevated concentrations can cause headache, dizziness, confusion, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, and death. Carbon dioxide can be dangerous even when the oxygen concentration has not fallen enough to activate an oxygen-deficiency alarm.

Container pressure

Carbon dioxide gas released by sublimation can build pressure inside a sealed or inadequately vented container. The container may rupture violently.

Safe Handling

Before starting work

  • Review the manufacturer’s safety data sheet for carbon dioxide, solid (CAS No. 124-38-9).
  • Determine whether the room, equipment, chamber, vehicle, or other location has adequate ventilation for the quantity used or stored.
  • Use only the quantity needed and plan how unused dry ice will be safely stored or allowed to sublimate.
  • Identify emergency procedures and keep exits unobstructed.

Personal protective equipment

  • Wear long pants or other clothing that covers the legs and closed-toe shoes that fully cover the feet.
  • Wear safety glasses with side shields. Wear chemical splash goggles and a face shield when breaking dry ice, handling large quantities, or when pieces may be projected. A face shield does not replace safety glasses or goggles.
  • Use tongs, a scoop, or another suitable tool whenever practical.
  • When hand contact is necessary, wear dry, loose-fitting, insulated gloves designed for handling very cold materials. Gloves must be easy to remove if dry ice enters the glove. Disposable nitrile or latex examination gloves do not provide adequate thermal protection.
  • Inspect gloves and tools before use. Do not use wet or damaged gloves.
  • Never handle dry ice with bare hands.

Ventilation and location

  • Use and store dry ice only in areas with adequate ventilation.
  • Do not use or store dry ice in cold rooms, walk-in refrigerators, environmental chambers, elevators, vehicles, or other enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces unless a documented assessment confirms that ventilation and monitoring are adequate.
  • Do not place dry ice in a refrigerator, freezer, or other enclosed appliance. Carbon dioxide can accumulate inside the appliance, and the low temperature may damage thermostats or other components.
  • Do not transport dry ice in the occupied passenger compartment of a vehicle. Use a separated, ventilated cargo area and minimize transport time.
  • Contact EHS for assistance when large quantities will be used or stored, when ventilation is uncertain, or when carbon dioxide monitoring may be needed.

Containers and storage

  • Never place dry ice in a sealed container. Do not use a screw-top, latched, or otherwise closed container unless it is specifically designed to continuously vent carbon dioxide gas.
  • Use a compatible, insulated container designed for dry ice. The container must allow gas to escape and must not become airtight if ice or debris accumulates.
  • Do not use glass containers or other containers that may become brittle, crack, or rupture at dry-ice temperatures.
  • Keep storage containers upright and in a secure location where they will not be disturbed, tipped, or mistaken for ordinary waste.
  • Do not store dry ice with materials that could be damaged by extreme cold or elevated carbon dioxide concentrations.

Disposal

  • Allow unused dry ice to sublimate in its vented container in a secure, designated, well-ventilated location.
  • Restrict access so that others cannot touch, move, or close the container.
  • Do not dispose of dry ice in a sink, toilet, floor drain, or other plumbing fixture.
  • Do not place dry ice in a trash can, dumpster, chemical-waste container, biohazardous-waste container, or other closed receptacle.
  • Do not leave dry ice to sublimate in a public corridor, occupied room, cold room, or other uncontrolled area.

Emergency Procedures

For emergency assistance on the Ithaca campus, call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111. Public Safety Communications coordinates police, fire, emergency medical, and EHS emergency response. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911.

Bulging, swollen, or pressurized container

Do not touch, move, open, puncture, or attempt to vent a bulging or swollen container. Keep people away, leave the immediate area, close the door if this can be done safely, and call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911.

Suspected carbon dioxide accumulation

  • If a carbon dioxide alarm activates, a large amount of dry ice spills in a poorly ventilated area, or anyone develops headache, dizziness, confusion, or difficulty breathing, leave the area immediately.
  • Do not enter or re-enter the area to retrieve material, open windows, adjust ventilation, or assist another person unless you are trained, equipped, and authorized for that response.
  • From a safe location, call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911.

First Aid

Skin contact

  • Remove loose clothing or jewelry from the affected area. Do not pull away clothing or material that is frozen to the skin.
  • Do not rub or massage the affected area and do not apply direct heat.
  • Warm the affected area with lukewarm water, approximately 99-104 °F (37-40 °C). Do not use cold water.
  • Cover the area loosely with a clean, dry dressing and obtain prompt medical evaluation. Call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111 for extensive injury, blistering, loss of sensation, or injury involving the face, hands, feet, or a large body area. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911.

Eye contact

  • Immediately flush the eye at an eyewash with tempered water for at least 15 minutes. Hold the eyelids open and remove contact lenses when easily possible.
  • Do not rub the eye. Obtain immediate medical evaluation.

Inhalation

  • Move to fresh air only if this can be done without entering a hazardous atmosphere.
  • Call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911. A person who is unconscious or having difficulty breathing requires immediate emergency response.
  • Do not enter an enclosed or potentially carbon-dioxide-enriched area to perform a rescue without appropriate training and respiratory protection.

After the emergency is addressed, submit a Cornell University Injury/Illness/Exposure Report: Incident Reporting.

Small spill in a normally ventilated room

  • Keep others away from the material.
  • If the area is normally ventilated, no alarm has activated, and no one has symptoms, allow the dry ice to sublimate or use appropriate tools and insulated gloves to transfer it to a compatible, vented container.
  • For a large spill, uncertain ventilation, an alarm, or any symptoms, evacuate and call Cornell Public Safety Communications at 607-255-1111. If you cannot reach Public Safety Communications, call 911.