Red phosphorus is designated as a "combustible solid" (a solid that either ignites easily or which can easily catch fire at low temperatures), one of the Category II hazardous substances in the Fire Service Act.
(Specified quantity: 100kg)

Red phosphorus is exempt from regulations governing harmful substances under RoHS (the EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive), WEEE (the EU's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive) and ELV (the EU's End of Life Vehicles Directive).

Green procurement
JIG-101 (EIA, JGPSSI, JEDEC)
Red phosphorus is not listed in either Level A or Level B of the list of chemical substances that should be disclosed for products and components for electrical or electronic devices.

German Federal Environment Agency (UBA)
Research report 204 08 542(old), 297 44 542(new)
(Microencapsulated) Red phosphorus：No environmental problems with use as a fire retardant

The LD50 level when administered to rats orally is 15,000 mg/kg or more, making red phosphorus practically harmless. The LD50 level for table salt administered orally to rats is 3,000 mg/kg.

ACGIH(2006)
Neither a TWA (Time Weighted Average) or a STEL/C (short term exposure limit and ceiling) has been established for red phosphorus.
Japan Society for Occupational Health (2006-2007)
No threshold limit value established.
Red phosphorus is classified as "other organic or inorganic dust", for which the threshold limit values are 2mg/m3 for inhalant dust and 8mg/m3 for total dust.

No reports of carcinogenicity in ACGIH (2006), Japan Society for Occupational Health (2006-2007), IARC MONOGRAPHS VOL.1 to 88(2006), or 67/548EEC Annex I (29ATPS)

Phosphine gas may build up within the container while the product is being stored, so care is required not to breathe in the gas inside the container.
Only a miniscule amount of phosphine is released when compound resins are molded or processed using red phosphorus fire retardants. Normally workplaces are ventilated constantly, with local air exhausters installed at the necessary locations. In such circumstances, the concentration will not reach the threshold limit value for a work environment.
In our factory for manufacturing red phosphorus fire retardant masterbatches, the concentration drops rapidly as the distance from the area around the exhaust of the extrusion die increases, so that when setting 15 cm away from the exhaust of the die the concentration is less than 0.05 ppm, well below the threshold limit value.

Red phosphorus fire retardants are safe in daily life as well, given that the amount of phosphine emitted from products containing red phosphorus fire retardants is miniscule, and well below the threshold limit value for the work environment. Moreover, phosphine oxidizes easily, ultimately becoming either an inorganic phosphate or an oxacid of phosphorus.
The amount of oxacids of phosphorus released from products containing red phosphorus fire retardants is also miniscule, and is not at a level that has an effect on human health.

As for the toxicity of the combustion gases during a fire, the toxicity due to phosphine has been shown to be relatively small, with a higher impact resulting from the noxious gases emitted from the resin itself (such as CO, HCN, and HCI).
There is no need to consider the toxicity due to phosphine during fires.

In water, products containing red phosphorus fire retardants release miniscule amounts of oxacids of phosphorus, such as hypophosphorus acid, phosphorus acid, and phosphoric acid, eventually converting into either phosphoric acid or one of its salts. Even if it ends up in landfill, it will not reach a concentration that will affect aquatic organisms, and will be absorbed by the natural environment, becoming a source of nutrients for the common plankton or becoming immobilized by forming inorganic substances in the soil or water-insoluble salts (such as salts of calcium and magnesium). A significant portion of the sources of phosphorus burden on the aquatic environment consist of natural sources, fertilizer, pesticides, livestock wastewater, and domestic wastewater. Given the low usage rate and the low level of solubility in water, it would be ridiculous to view eutrophication due to red phosphorus fire retardants as a problem. In relation to eutrophication, efforts are underway throughout society, focusing on wastewater.