Toxic Industrial Material- Ammonia- Characteristics. Medical Activities
Written by Anam Hussain
General characteristics of ammonia:
- Ammonia is a colourless gas
- Has pungent odour
- It is a suffocating poison
- is the most widespread industrial material
- Lighter than air and highly soluble in water
- Flammable
- Air-ammonia mixture is heavier than air and explosive
Routes for exposure
- Inhalation
- Ingestion
- Through damaged skin
- Transported and stored in liquid form at low temperature and pressure (2 atm negative pressure | -33 degrees Celsius). Hence intoxication can occur due to storage and transport accidents
- Intoxication mainly takes place due to industrial waste accidents
Pathogenesis:
- Target organs: Respiratory system
- When consumed, ammonia reacts with water in mucous membranes to form NH4+ and OH- ions
- They cause colliquative necrosis of throughout entire route of e.g. eyes, nose, mouth, pharynx, larynx, trachea, oesophagus, lungs
- When large amounts of ammonia inhaled, toxic-allergic oedema of vocal cords cause immediate death due to blocking air intake
- When less ammonia inhaled, developing necrosis triggers different body reactions e.g.: lacrimation, hypersalivation, bronchorrhea via gland stimulation
- When ammonia reaches lungs, before developing necrosis, causes extravasation of fluid in alveoli leading to pulmonary oedema
- Levels of intoxication depends on quantity and routes of exposure and