Ammonia

Background

Ammonia occurs naturally and is produced by human activity. Ammonia is made up of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is an important source of nitrogen, which is needed by plants and animals. It is widely used in fertilizers and pharmaceuticals.

At room temperature, ammonia is a clear, colorless gas. Ammonia can also be a clear, colorless liquid that dissolves in water. Changing ammonia to a liquid can help with its storage and transportation.

Ammonia can be recognized by its strong smell, which is like the smell of rotting fish. Ammonia reacts with strong oxidizers, acids, halogens (including chlorine bleach), and salts of silver, zinc, copper, and other heavy metals. Ammonia is also commonly used in a liquid form mixed with water, such as household ammonia.

Signs and symptoms

Normal amounts of ammonia in the environment do not cause health effects in humans. Exposure to high levels of ammonia may hurt your skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and cause coughing and burns. Lung damage and death may occur after exposure to very high levels of ammonia.

Most people will smell the chemical or feel irritation that tells you that you are exposed to ammonia. Exposure for a long time may affect people's ability to sense the chemical.

Effects depend on how the person was exposed, how much they were exposed to, and how long they were exposed for. Some people with asthma or other chronic lung diseases may be more sensitive to breathing ammonia than others.

Symptoms of exposure to higher levels of ammonia include the following:

• Abdominal pain, nausea, or vomiting
• Coughing or coughing up white or pink colored fluid
• Skin blisters, pain, or redness
• Burning feeling in the nose, throat, lungs, and eyes
• Narrowing of the throat and swelling
• Permanent or temporary blindness
• Frostbite (if exposed to liquified ammonia)

Exposure to very high levels of ammonia can lead to death.

Exposure

If ammonia is in the air, people can be exposed through skin or eye contact, or breathing in the gas. Ammonia gas is lighter than air, so it will rise. If ammonia is in water, people can be exposed by touching or drinking water that contains ammonia.

Ammonia in food

Ammonia is unlikely to be eaten or drunk, because it has a very bad smell and taste. Avoid using or eating food that smells, tastes, or looks unusual.

Do not eat food that may have touched liquid ammonia if the food is not in a glass or metal container. If the food is in an unbroken sealed glass or metal container, it should not be affected by an ammonia release. Wash the outside of the container before using.

Follow any directions by local authorities.

What to do if you are exposed

Get away

Get away from the area where the ammonia was released and breathe fresh air.

If the ammonia release was outdoors, go indoors and shelter in place. Make sure windows are closed and ventilation systems are turned off to make sure the ammonia does not come inside. If you cannot go indoors, leave the area where the ammonia was released.

If the ammonia release was indoors, get out of the building. If the ammonia release was from household cleaners or chemicals, open windows and doors to let in fresh air. Leave the area until the gas has gone away.

If you cannot get away, go to the lowest ground possible because ammonia is lighter than air and will rise.

Get clean

Get clean by taking off all clothes, jewelry, and accessories and showering. If you cannot take off all layers, take off as many clothes as you can.

Take your clothes off

If clothes are frozen to your body, do not try to remove until no longer frozen. Instead, begin washing with a lot of lukewarm water. Then remove your clothes.

Do not pull clothing over your head. If you must pull clothing over your head, close your eyes and mouth, and hold your breath. This will stop the ammonia from getting in your eyes, nose, or mouth. Put clothes in a plastic bag. Drop clothes to the floor.

If you wear contact lenses, take them out and place them with your clothing. Do not put contact lenses back in.

Wash your body

First wash your hair, face, and hands, and then wash the rest of your body. Wash from your head to your feet with a lot of lukewarm water and mild soap (if available) for several minutes. Finish with a plain water rinse. Try not to let the water run into your eyes, nose, or mouth. Do not scrub!

If your eyes are burning or you can't see normally, wash your eyes for 10–15 minutes with lukewarm water. Do not use eye drops.

Dry your face, then tilt your head back and dry your hair, and then dry down your body. Use anything that will soak up water. Drop used things to the floor. Dress in any available clean clothes to prevent hypothermia (low body temperature). This is especially important if temperatures are cool.

Clear the dirty items

If emergency response services are available, leave used items on the floor and report where they are to emergency teams. Move as far from the used items as possible.

Otherwise, put on waterproof or heavy gloves that won't let liquid go through. Gather all used things from the floor, including your clothes, and put them in a plastic bag. Remove gloves and put them in the plastic bag. Close the plastic bag and place it in a second plastic bag. Close up the second bag also.

Do not put the bags in the regular trash! Place the bags in an area where other people are unlikely to disturb them and touch ammonia. Inform local authorities of the location of the bags for pick up.

Treatment

No known cure exists for ammonia exposure. Treatment involves removing ammonia from the body as soon as possible and providing supportive medical care. Symptoms can be treated in a hospital setting or by trained emergency personnel.

If someone has swallowed ammonia, do not force vomiting.

Long-term health effects

While most people recover, survivors who breathed in large amounts may suffer long-term lung damage.

If ammonia touches your eyes, it may cause ulcerations (sores) and perforations (holes) to form in the eye. This can occur up to weeks or months after exposure and could lead to blindness. Cataracts (cloudiness in the eyes) and glaucoma (disease that damages the eye) have also been reported after ammonia exposure.

Repeated exposure to ammonia, usually in the workplace, may cause long-term irritation of the respiratory tract. The respiratory tract includes the mouth, nose, throat, and lungs. Repeated exposures to ammonia have also caused the following:

• Chronic coughs
• Asthma
• Lung fibrosis (scarring and thickening of the lungs)
• Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS) (asthma caused by chemicals)
• Eye and skin irritation