Ammonia: History, usage, and safety
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The bottom line
Ammonia is a chemical that can be naturally or artificially produced. The toxicity of ammonia depends on its concentration. Most household products containing ammonia are safe when used as directed, but some have the potential to cause burns. Industrial products are more concentrated and more likely to cause burns.
Prevention tips
Read all product labels before using an ammonia-containing product.
Do not mix cleaning products. Doing so can create harmful gases.
The danger associated with an ammonia product depends on how concentrated it is. Use appropriate personal protective equipment when recommended (such as gloves and goggles).
When using ammonia-based cleaning products, be sure to have fresh air circulating in the area.
If local authorities advise people to evacuate an area because of a large ammonia release, close your windows and doors and leave immediately.
This really happened
A 30-year-old woman unintentionally splashed a concentrated ammonia cleaner into her eye. The product was intended to be diluted with water before use. She immediately flushed the affected eye, but the following day, she continued to have pain and awoke with crusting around the eye. She went to an emergency department, where her eye was irrigated again and the medical team called her poison center. In addition to confirming that adequate irrigation had been performed, a poison center recommended a vision exam and a fluorescein stain to check for any scratches on the surface of her eye, along with numbing medication to make her more comfortable.
The eye stain showed one large abrasion. She was sent home with an antibiotic ointment for her eye, instructions to take over-the-counter pain medication, and a referral to follow up with an ophthalmologist to make sure that she had no changes in vision. Her eye healed up nicely within a few weeks, and she did not suffer any permanent loss of vision.
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What is ammonia?
Ammonia is a simple molecule consisting of 1 nitrogen atom and 3 atoms of hydrogen (NH3) that form a colorless gas. Ammonia quickly gains another hydrogen atom when added to water to become an ammonium ion (NH4+). Even in low concentrations, ammonia has a very strong, distinctive odor.
Ammonia (in small amounts) is needed by the human body for the production of DNA, RNA, and proteins.
History of ammonia
Ammonia forms as dead plants and animals decay. Living animals, including humans, also produce ammonia while digesting food. It leaves the body in the breath, feces, and urine, which is what you smell in a cat box.
Farmers have long known that adding animal feces and discarded food to soil restores it. By 1900, agricultural scientists had identified nitrogen as the key ingredient and found that ammonia could supply it. One large natural source was a group of islands off the coast of Peru, home to millions of seabirds. The islands got little rain, so seabird feces (guano) built up undisturbed over hundreds of years. The guano became a worldwide source of ammonia, used mostly for fertilizer but also for gunpowder. An estimated 12 million tons were removed between 1840 and 1870, a rate that would have stripped the islands within decades.
Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch developed a way to pull nitrogen from the air and produce ammonia in large quantities at a profit. Haber described the process as making bread from air. It also supplied gunpowder manufacturers. The Haber-Bosch process is still the basis of ammonia production today, and 70 to 85% of the ammonia produced goes to fertilizer for food crops.
Is ammonia safe?
Ammonia is corrosive. It damages the tissue it touches, including skin, mouth, eyes, lungs, and the digestive tract. The higher the concentration of ammonia, the greater the risk of burning these tissues.
The highest concentrations of ammonia are often found in industrial settings and where ammonia is being transported as a compressed gas (such as tanker trucks and railroad tank cars). A transportation accident can release a toxic cloud of high-concentration ammonia that can threaten an entire community. Ammonia in household products is typically at a low concentration.
What to do if you are exposed to ammonia
If someone is exposed to an ammonia-containing product, rinse the affected area thoroughly, then use the webPOISONCONTROL® online tool to get help, or call your poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Whether online or by phone, expert guidance is always free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
What products in your home contain ammonia?
Common household items that contain ammonia are fertilizers, potting soil with fertilizer, and cleaners. Fertilizers that contain ammonia can cause more irritation to exposed tissues than other household products because they have higher concentrations of ammonia. Even a taste of fertilizer can cause stomach upset or vomiting.
The little white pieces of fertilizer in potting soil contain ammonia. Children who take a handful and put it into their mouths are usually fine. Rinsing out the mouth and washing the hands is all you usually need to do to minimize any harm.
The most common household cleaning products with ammonia are glass cleaners. The ammonia evaporates quickly before streaks can be left behind. Children sometimes spray glass cleaners into their mouths or eyes. This can be very irritating. If the product gets in the mouth, rinse the mouth with water. If it gets in the eyes, gently rinse the eyes with water or a gentle eye wash to remove the product and reduce irritation. Rinsing with water helps in almost all ammonia exposures, because ammonia dissolves in water.
Mixing ammonia-containing products with other cleaners is dangerous. For example, mixing ammonia and bleach produces chloramine gas, which can cause a lot of coughing and sore throats. Depending on how much chloramine gas is generated and the person’s lung reactivity, it can also cause shortness of breath and wheezing. Anytime someone has trouble breathing or is wheezing, call 911.
Are there long-term effects of ammonia exposure?
Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia carries the risk of permanent burn damage to the exposed tissues. Most household exposures to ammonia will resolve without leaving any damage.
Are smelling salts safe?
One unusual use of ammonia is smelling salts used by weightlifters. The potent smell is supposed to give the user a surge of adrenaline, helping them to lift heavy weights. The noxious smell of ammonia causes the user to inhale deeply. In theory, this could help performance by briefly delivering more oxygen to the muscles. However, there is no proof that smelling salts cause an adrenaline release. There have been cases of children biting into smelling salt capsules and getting burns to the lips, mouth, and tongue.