Open HSME menu
Subscribe Login

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / What is Ammonia Gas?

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Open HSME menu
Subscribe

Home / Articles and Press Releases / Press Release / What is Ammonia Gas?

CATEGORIES

  • Latest Issue
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

MORE

  • Press Release
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Magazines

COMPANY

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

CATEGORIES

  • Safety Signage
  • Heat and Flame
  • Article
  • Press Release
  • Air Pollution
  • Above The Neck Protection
  • Chemical Protection
  • Confined Space
  • Construction
  • Emergency Procedures
  • Energy, Oil, and Mining Industries
  • Eye Protection
  • Fall Protection
  • Gas Detection
  • Hand Protection
  • Hazardous and Explosive Atmospheres
  • Health and Safety Awareness
  • Hearing Protection
  • Heat
  • Lighting and ATEX
  • Noise Monitoring
  • Offshore Platform Safety
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Regulations & Legislations
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Safety Footwear
  • Safety Technology
  • Safety Training
  • Slips, Trips, and Falls
  • Wellbeing at work
  • Working at Height
  • Working rights

Press Release

What is Ammonia Gas?

By Blackline Safety

| Read Bio

Published: November 28th, 2017

Share this article

For the original article, please visit blacklinesafety.com

The New York Department of Health describes ammonia gas as a colorless, alkaline gas comprised of nitrogen and hydrogen (NH3) that has a strong odor, often associated with window cleaner. Ammonia is a natural, biological agent in organisms that helps to form amino acids, which are the basic building blocks of proteins.

It also involved in the natural decomposition of plant and animal materials. When present in higher concentrations, ammonia gas is hazardous to workers and the public.

What is ammonia gas used for?

Many industries make use of ammonia gas for several applications:

  • Cleaning chemicals
  • Agricultural fertilizer
  • Refrigerant gas that has in large part replaced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
  • Water purification
  • Manufacturing plastics and other chemicals
  • A building block for pharmaceuticals

Ammonia gas properties

Ammonia gas is hauled by rail

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, ammonia has boiling temperature of -33°C (-28°F) — ammonia is a gas a room temperature. While it is lighter than air, a release of pressurized ammonia gas can collect at ground-level until the aerosol cloud becomes diluted and begins to rise. Dilute ammonia gas that has left the cloud / vapor phase will generally not collect in low-lying areas such as heavier-than-air gases such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

Ammonia gas is very hydrophilic, meaning it is water-loving. When stored as a gas or compressed liquid without presence of water moisture, ammonia is referred to as anhydrous ammonia.

Impact on safety

Upon release to the environment, ammonia gas is very quick to attach itself to moisture, such as found in a person’s eyes, mouth, throat, lungs and on his or her skin. Ammonia is very caustic, forming ammonium hydroxide that has a higher pH than water and can damage respiratory systems, disrupt vision and irritate or burn skin upon contact. The caustic action of ammonium hydroxide damages cell membranes, causing more liquid to be released that further interacts with ammonia gas, perpetuating the effects on the human body.

Odor threshold of ammonia gas

Ammonia gas is used to produce fertilizer

Although not every organization agrees on the perceptible threshold, OSHA estimates that people begins to smell ammonia gas ranging from 5 to 50 ppm. Experience in the industry indicates that workers consistently subjected to weak ammonia levels may become somewhat desensitized to its presence.

Ammonia gas exposure

According to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, nose and throat irritation can result from ammonia exposure ranging from 24–50 parts per million (ppm) after ten minutes of exposure. With a higher ammonia concentration ranging from 72–134 ppm, the same irritation can occur in half the time. For a concentration of 700 ppm, immediate and severe irritation would likely occur. At a concentration of 5,000 ppm, respiratory spasms and rapid suffocation occurs. At 10,000 ppm, pulmonary edema and potentially fatal accumulation of liquid in the lungs would occur.

Detection of ammonia gas

As with all safety regulations, the safe work exposure limits for ammonia vary from region to region.

In the United Kingdom, the Health and Safety Executive specifies safe exposure limits for ammonia gas as 25 ppm for an eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA) and 35 ppm for a 15-minute short-term exposure limit (STEL).

In the United States, OSHA specifies the permissible exposure limit (PEL) for ammonia gas as 50 ppm for an eight-hour TWA, allowing a higher limit of 100 ppm for a shorter four-hour TWA.

The recommended exposure limit (REL) specified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is 25 ppm for an eight-hour TWA. NIOSH specifies the immediately dangerous to life or health concentration (IDLH) at 500 ppm.

Blackine Safety G7 Wireless Gas and Lone Worker Monitoring

While ammonia gas has a broad range of uses, from a refrigerant and fertilizer to being a raw material for many processes, it’s hazardous to the health of nearby workers and the public. Personal gas detection with an ammonia sensor is an invaluable method for businesses to help personnel keep an eye on safe work environments and the potential for ammonia gas exposure.

Wireless gas detection and communications solves the challenge of triggering an emergency response when a worker has been exposed to ammonia gas and cannot self-rescue. Blackline Safety developed its G7 wireless gas detection and lone worker monitors to solve this exact problem — to empower a real-time emergency response for when seconds count. G7 features an ammonia gas sensor option that alerts live monitoring personnel when an employee needs help, directing responders to the employee’s exact location. Best of all, G7 safety monitoring technology and cloud-based monitoring portal are a turnkey solution that don’t rely on facility Wi-Fi networks or power to operate. As a standalone system, no smartphones or Bluetooth connections are required.

Let us know if you have any questions on how G7 may be able to complement your gas detection or lone worker monitoring programs.

Share this article

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Blackline Safety

Blackline Safety Corp. is a publicly traded wireless location leader (TSX.V: BLN) that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for worker safety monitoring. Headquartered in Calgary, Canada, we employ over 60 talented personnel with a diverse array of skillsets, allowing us to fulfill our customers’ requirements. We have a global reach with an office in the the United Kingdom, a growing international distribution network, and capability to deliver services in over 200 countries.

Connect with Blackline Safety

Visit Website

POPULAR POSTS BY Blackline Safety

Press Release

Push-To-Talk Capability Coming To G7C

Press Release

What is Hydrogen Sulfide?

Press Release

What is Ammonia Gas?

Get email updates

Sign up for the HSME newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region's only industrial health and safety magazine - delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/HSMEMagazine/

Advertisement

SOCIAL MEDIA

HSME on Twitter

hsmemagazine HSME Magazine @hsmemagazine ·
20h

isafe MOBILE announces the immediate availability of the world’s first 5G smartphone for ATEX and IECEx zone 1/21.

The IS540.1 is available immediately, find out more today: https://www.hsmemagazine.com/press-release/is540-1-available-now/

#hsmemagazine #isafeMOBILE #ATEX #IECEx

Reply on Twitter 1620747838971088898 Retweet on Twitter 1620747838971088898 Like on Twitter 1620747838971088898 2 Twitter 1620747838971088898

Advertisement

SUBSCRIBE

Stay up to date with our newsletter

Keep up-to-date through the power of email with the region’s only industrial health and safety magazine – delivering the latest news and products to satisfy all your occupational safety needs.

 

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Subscribe

SUBSCRIBE TO HSME MAGAZINE

5 reasons to subscribe to our digital and print package

  • Stay up to date from anywhere in the world, with instant access to the latest issue straight from your phone, tablet or laptop.
  • Trust that you’re getting the best content from our range of internationally accredited authors.
  • Get full access to our archives and see how occupational safety has evolved with us over the years.
  • Enjoy our monthly newsletter curated with up-to-the-minute news and a selection of editor’s top picks.
  • Hot off the press and straight to your door – look forward to your own glossy copy of HSME, delivered five times a year
Subscribe View Subscription levels

STAY SAFE & INFORMED

Subscribe to the best health & safety articles, news, products and regulations

Find out more

Stay up to date with our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

ABOUT

  • About HSME
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us

YOUR ACCOUNT

Sign In Register Account Subscribe to HSME

RESOURCES

Request Media Pack

CONNECT

ACCREDITATIONS

Copyright Bay Publishing 2023. All Rights reserved.

Designed & Built by:
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT