Sodium chromate is a yellow solid chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 used as a corrosion inhibitor in the petroleum industry, a dyeing auxiliary in the textile industry, as a wood preservative, and as a diagnostic pharmaceutical in determining red blood cell

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

 volume.

It is obtained from the reaction of sodium dichromate

Sodium dichromate

Sodium dichromate is the chemical compound with the formula Na2Cr2O7. Usually, however, the salt is handled as its dihydrate Na2Cr2O7·2H2O. Virtually all chromium ore is processed via conversion to sodium dichromate. In this way, many millions of kilograms of sodium dichromate are produced...

 with sodium hydroxide. It is hygroscopic and can form tetra-, hexa-, and decahydrate

Hydrate

Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. The chemical state of the water varies widely between hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood....

s. Sodium chromate, like other hexavalent chromium

Hexavalent chromium

Hexavalent chromium refers to chemical compounds that contain the element chromium in the +6 oxidation state. Virtually all chromium ore is processed via hexavalent chromium, specifically the salt sodium dichromate. Approximately of hexavalent chromium were produced in 1985...

 compounds, can be carcinogenic.

The substance is a strong oxidant. It is soluble in water, producing a weakly basic solution.