1.1 What is ammonia? |
1.2 What happens to ammonia when it enters
the environment? |
1.3 How might I be exposed to ammonia? |
1.4 How can ammonia enter and leave my
body? |
1.5 How can ammonia affect my health? |
1.6 How can ammonia affect children? |
1.7 How can families reduce the risk of
exposure to ammonia? |
1.8 Is there a medical test to determine
whether i have been exposed to ammonia? |
1.9 What recommendations has the federal
government made to protect human health? |
1.10 Where can I get more information? |
References |
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September 2002 |
Public Health Statement |
for |
Ammonia |
Draft for Public
Comment |
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This Public Health Statement is the
summary chapter from the Toxicological
Profile for ammonia. It is one in a series of Public Health
Statements about hazardous substances and their health effects.
A shorter version, the ToxFAQs™,
is also available. This information is important because this
substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous
substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed,
personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are
present. For more information, call the ATSDR Information
Center at 1-888-422-8737.
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This public health statement tells you
about ammonia and the effects of exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation.
These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and
are the sites targeted for long-term federal cleanup activities.
Ammonia has been found in at least 135 of the 1,613 current
or former NPL sites. However, the total number of NPL sites
evaluated for this substance is not known. As more sites are
evaluated, the sites at which ammonia is found may increase.
This information is important because exposure to ammonia
may harm you and because these sites may be sources of exposure.
When a substance is released from a large
area, such as an industrial plant, or from a container, such
as a drum or bottle, it enters the environment. This release
does not always lead to exposure. You are exposed to a substance
only when you come in contact with it. You may be exposed
by breathing, eating, or drinking the substance, or by skin
contact.
If you are exposed to ammonia, many factors
determine whether you'll be harmed. These factors include
the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you
come in contact with it. You must also consider the other
chemicals you're exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family
traits, lifestyle, and state of health.
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1.1
What is ammonia? |
Ammonia is a chemical that is made both
by humans and by nature. The amount of ammonia manufactured
every year by humans is almost equal to the amount produced
by nature every year. However, when ammonia is found at a
level that may cause concern, it was likely produced either
directly or indirectly by humans.
Ammonia is a colorless gas with a very
sharp odor. The odor is familiar to most people because ammonia
is used in smelling salts, household cleaners, and window
cleaning products. Ammonia easily dissolves in water. In water,
most of the ammonia changes to ammonium ions, which are not
gaseous and do not smell. Ammonia and ammonium ions can change
back and forth in water. In wells, rivers, lakes, and wet
soils, the ionic ammonium form is the most common.
Ammonia is very important to plant, animal,
and human life. It is found in water, soil, and air, and is
a source of much-needed nitrogen for plants and animals. Most
of the ammonia in the environment comes from the natural breakdown
of manure and dead plants and animals.
Eighty percent of all manufactured ammonia
is used as fertilizer. A third of this is applied directly
as pure ammonia. The rest is used to make other fertilizers
that contain ammonium compounds, usually ammonium salts. Ammonia
is also used to manufacture synthetic fibers, plastics, and
explosives. Many cleaning products also contain ammonia.
For detailed information on the chemical
properties of ammonia, see Chapter 4. Details on the
production and use of ammonia are in Chapter 5, and more
information on the environmental fate of ammonia and sources
of human exposure is in Chapter 6.
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1.2
What happens to ammonia when it enters the environment? |
Since ammonia occurs naturally in the
environment, we are regularly exposed to low levels of ammonia
in air, soil, and water. Ammonia has been found in both soil
and water samples at hazardous waste sites. Ammonia exists
naturally in the air at levels between 1 and 5 parts
in a billion parts of air (ppb). It is commonly found in rainwater.
The ammonia levels in rivers and bays are usually less than
6 parts per million (ppm; 6 ppm=6,000 ppb).
Soil typically contains about 1-5 ppm of ammonia. The
levels of ammonia vary throughout the day, as well as from
season to season. Generally, ammonia levels are highest in
the summer and spring, when nature is most active.
Ammonia does not last very long in the
environment. Because it is recycled naturally, nature has
many ways of incorporating and transforming ammonia. In soil
or water, plants and microorganisms rapidly take up ammonia.
After fertilizer containing ammonia is applied to soil, the
amount of ammonia in that soil decreases to low levels in
a few days. In the air, ammonia will last about 1 week.
In the air near hazardous waste sites,
ammonia can be found as a gas. Ammonia can also be found dissolved
in ponds or other bodies of water at a waste site. Ammonia
can be found sticking to soil at hazardous waste sites. The
average concentration of ammonia reported at hazardous waste
sites ranges from 1 to 1,000 ppm in soil samples
and up to 16 ppm in water samples.
See Chapter 6 for more detailed information
on the environmental fate of ammonia, ammonia levels in the
environment, and exposure to ammonia.
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1.3
How might I be exposed to ammonia? |
Ammonia has a very strong odor that is
irritating and that you can smell when it is in the air at
a level higher than 50 ppm. Therefore, you will probably
smell ammonia before you are exposed to a concentration that
may harm you. Levels of ammonia in air that cause serious
effects in animals are much higher than levels you would normally
be exposed to at home or work. However, low levels of ammonia
may harm some asthmatics and other sensitive individuals.
You can taste ammonia in water at levels
of about 35 ppm. Lower levels than this occur naturally
in food and water. Swallowing even small amounts of liquid
ammonia in your household cleaner might cause burns in your
mouth and throat. A few drops of liquid ammonia or ammonium
ion on the skin or in the eyes will cause burns and open sores
if not washed away quickly. Exposure to larger amounts of
liquid ammonia or ammonium ion in the eyes causes severe eye
burns and can lead to blindness.
Outdoors, you may be exposed to high
levels of ammonia in air from leaks and spills at production
plants and storage facilities, and from pipelines, tank trucks,
railcars, ships, and barges that transport ammonia. Higher
levels of ammonia in air may occur when fertilizer is applied
to farm fields. After fertilizer is applied, the concentration
of ammonia in soil can be more than 3,000 ppm; however,
these levels decrease rapidly over a few days. Indoors, you
may be exposed to ammonia while using household products that
contain ammonia. Some of these products are ammonia cleaning
solutions, window cleaners, floor waxes, and smelling salts.
Household ammonia cleaning solutions are made by adding ammonia
gas to water and can contain between 5 and 10% ammonia.
You can also be exposed to ammonia at
work because many of the cleaning products there also contain
ammonia. Farmers, cattle ranchers, and people who raise chickens
can be exposed to ammonia from decaying manure. Some manufacturing
processes also use ammonia. Some older refrigeration units
used ammonia as the refrigerant.
For more information on levels of exposure
associated with effects, see Chapter 3.
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1.4
How can ammonia enter and leave my body? |
Ammonia can enter your body if you breathe
in ammonia or if you swallow water or food containing ammonia
or ammonium ion. If you spill a liquid containing ammonia
on your skin, a small amount of ammonia might enter your body
through your skin; however, more ammonia will probably enter
as you breathe ammonia gas from the spilled ammonia. After
you breathe in ammonia, you breathe most of it out again.
The ammonia that is retained is changed into ammonium compounds
and carried throughout the body in seconds. If you swallow
ammonia in food or water, it will get into your bloodstream
and be carried throughout your body in seconds. Most of the
ammonia that enters your body from food or water rapidly changes
into other substances that will not harm you. The rest of
this ammonia leaves your body in urine within a couple of
days. For more information on how ammonia can enter and leave
your body, see Chapter 3.
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1.5
How can ammonia affect my health? |
To protect the public from the harmful
effects of toxic chemicals and to find ways to treat people
who have been harmed, scientists use many tests.
One way to see if a chemical will hurt
people is to learn how the chemical is absorbed, used, and
released by the body; for some chemicals, animal testing may
be necessary. Animal testing may also be used to identify
health effects such as cancer or birth defects. Without laboratory
animals, scientists would lose a basic method to get information
needed to make wise decisions to protect public health. Scientists
have the responsibility to treat research animals with care
and compassion. Laws today protect the welfare of research
animals, and scientists must comply with strict animal care
guidelines.
If you were exposed to much higher than
normal amounts of ammonia, you would experience some effects.
For example, if you spilled a bottle of concentrated ammonia
on the floor, you would smell a strong ammonia odor; you might
cough, and your eyes might water because of irritation. If
you were exposed to very high levels of ammonia, you would
experience more harmful effects. For example, if you walked
into a dense cloud of ammonia or if your skin comes in contact
with concentrated ammonia, your skin, eyes, throat, or lungs
may be severely burned. These burns might be serious enough
to cause permanent blindness, lung disease, or death. Likewise,
if you accidentally ate or drank concentrated ammonia, you
might experience burns in your mouth, throat, and stomach.
Based on available data, we cannot say with certainty whether
ammonia causes cancer or birth defects. Ammonia has not been
classified for carcinogenic effects by EPA, Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS) (NTP), or International Agency
for Research on Cancer (IARC). There are limited data that
suggest that ammonia by itself is not carcinogenic, but that
in the presence of certain other chemicals, it may contribute
to the development of cancer. Ammonia can also have beneficial
effects, such as when it is used as a smelling salt. Certain
ammonium salts have long been used in veterinary and human
medicine. For more information on how ammonia can affect your
health, see Chapter 3.
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1.6
How can ammonia affect children? |
This section discusses potential health
effects from exposures during the period from conception to
maturity at 18 years of age in humans.
Children are less likely than adults
to be exposed to concentrated ammonia because most exposures
of that kind occur in occupational settings. Children can
still be exposed in the same way as adults to ammonia gas
from spills or leaks from ammonia tanks or pipelines, especially
on farms where it is used as a fertilizer. Children can also
be exposed to dilute ammonia solutions from household cleaners
containing ammonia.
The effects of ammonia on children are
likely to be the same as for adults. Ammonia is an irritant
and the solution and gas can cause burns of the skin, eyes,
mouth, and lungs. If a spill occurs, children may be exposed
to ammonia for a longer time than adults because they may
not leave the area as quickly.
Based on available data, we do not know
if exposure to ammonia causes birth defects. It is not known
whether ammonia can be transferred from a pregnant mother
to a developing fetus through the placenta or from a nursing
mother to her offspring through breast milk. One study in
animals showed that exposure of mothers to very high levels
of ammonia during pregnancy caused their newborn babies offspring
to be smaller than normal.
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1.7
How can families reduce the risk of exposure to ammonia? |
If your doctor finds that you have been
exposed to significant amounts of ammonia, ask whether your
children might also have been exposed. Your doctor might need
to ask your state health department to investigate.
You can reduce your risk of exposure
to ammonia by carefully using household products and by avoiding
areas where ammonia is used or produced. At home, you can
reduce your risk of exposure to ammonia by careful handling
of any household products that contain ammonia. For example,
some cleaning products contain ammonia; so when you use them,
you should be sure that rooms are adequately ventilated during
the time you are using them. Avoid ammonia-containing products
in glass bottle since breakage could lead to a more serious
exposure. You should wear proper clothing and eye protection,
because ammonia can cause skin burns and damage eyes if it
is splashed on them. To lower the risk of your children being
exposed to ammonia, you should tell them to stay out of the
room when you are using it. While use of ammonia by a child
is not recommended, any use by a child should be closely supervised
by an adult.
You can also reduce your risk of exposure
to ammonia by avoiding areas where it is being used. Ammonia
is used to fertilize crops, so you can lower your exposure
to ammonia by avoiding these areas when it is being applied.
You can also lower your exposure to ammonia by avoiding places
where it is produced. Ammonia is found in many animal wastes,
and it may be present in high concentrations in livestock
buildings. You can lower your exposure to ammonia by avoiding
these buildings, especially if large numbers of animals are
inside.
If you are a worker who uses or applies
ammonia for farming, you can reduce your exposure by using
it according to the instructions and wearing proper clothing
and protective gear. Be sure to follow all instructions and
heed any warning statements.
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1.8
Is there a medical test to determine whether i have been exposed
to ammonia? |
There are tests that measure ammonia/ammonium
ion in blood and urine; however, these tests would probably
not tell you whether you have been exposed because ammonia
is normally found in the body. If you were exposed to harmful
amounts of ammonia, you would notice it immediately because
of the strong, unpleasant, and irritating smell, the strong
taste, and because of skin, eye, nose, or throat irritation.
Exposure detection levels and methods for determining ammonia
levels in biological materials are discussed in Chapters 3
and 7.
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1.9 What recommendations has the federal government made to protect human health? |
The federal government develops regulations
and recommendations to protect public health. Regulations
can be enforced by law. Federal agencies that develop
regulations for toxic substances include the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA), and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). Recommendations provide valuable guidelines to protect
public health but cannot be enforced by law. Federal
organizations that develop recommendations for toxic substances
include the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH).
Regulations and recommendations can be
expressed in not-to-exceed levels in air, water, soil, or
food that are usually based on levels that affect animals;
then they are adjusted to help protect people. Sometimes these
not-to-exceed levels differ among federal organizations because
of different exposure times (an 8-hour workday or a 24-hour
day), the use of different animal studies, or other factors.
Recommendations and regulations are also
periodically updated as more information becomes available.
For the most current information, check with the federal agency
or organization that provides it. Some regulations and recommendations
for ammonia include the following:
EPA regulates the ammonia content in
waste water released by several industries. Any discharges
or spills of ammonia of 100 pounds or more, or of ammonium
salts of 1,000 or 5,000 pounds (depending upon the
compound), must be reported to EPA.
Some restrictions have been placed on
levels of ammonium salts allowable in processed foods. FDA
states that the levels of ammonia and ammonium compounds normally
found in food do not pose a health risk. Maximum allowable
levels in processed foods are as follows: 0.04-3.2% ammonium
bicarbonate in baked goods, grain, snack foods, and reconstituted
vegetables; 2.0% ammonium carbonate in baked goods, gelatins,
and puddings; 0.001% ammonium chloride in baked goods and
0.8% in condiments and relishes; 0.6-0.8% ammonium hydroxide
in baked goods, cheeses, gelatins, and puddings; 0.01% monobasic
ammonium phosphate in baked goods; and 1.1% dibasic ammonium
phosphate in baked goods, 0.003% in nonalcoholic beverages,
and 0.012% in condiments and relishes.
OSHA has set an 8-hour exposure limit
of 25 ppm and a short-term (15-minute) exposure limit
of 35 ppm for ammonia in the workplace. NIOSH recommends
that the level in workroom air be limited to 50 ppm for
5 minutes of exposure. Ammonia has not been classified
for carcinogenic effects by EPA, DHHS (NTP), or IARC. There
are limited data that suggest that ammonia by itself is not
carcinogenic, but that in the presence of certain other chemicals,
it may contribute to the development of cancer.
Further information on governmental recommendations
can be found in Chapter 8.
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1.10 Where can I get more information? |
If you have any more questions or concerns, please contact
your community or state health or environmental quality department or:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Division of Toxicology
1600 Clifton Road NE, Mailstop F-32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Information line and technical assistance:
Phone: 888-422-8737
FAX: (770)-488-4178
ATSDR can also tell you the location of occupational and environmental health
clinics. These clinics specialize in recognizing, evaluating, and treating illnesses
resulting from exposure to hazardous substances.
To order toxicological profiles, contact:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Phone: 800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000 |
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References |
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR). 2002. Toxicological
profile for ammonia. Draft for Public Comment.
Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Public Health Service.
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