NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
November 4, 1999
Editors: This is the final article in a series of six on anhydrous ammonia safety
Anydrous Ammonia can turn skin into a gooey mass and suck every drop of moisture from eyes, lungs, the throat and mouth.
"This is not something you want to take risks with," says George Maher, an agricultural safety specialist with the North Dakota State Univesity Extension Service. "There is good reason to use every safety precaution available when working with anhydrous ammonia. Injuries are often disfiguring and permanent."
Because of its extremely low temperature, strong attraction to moisture and chemical makeup, anhydrous ammonia destroys human tissue in several ways, Maher notes. Eyes lungs and skin are the most frequently injured. Permanent damage most frequently occurs to the sensative tissues of the lungs, throat and mouth.
Anhydrous ammonia is a very strong alkali and can cause severe chemical burns when it comes into contact with the skin. A freeze burn can also result due to the extremely low temperatures (-28 F) of anhydrous ammonia. The affected skin may turn into a gooey mass that is very slow to heal, Maher says. These are the injuries that are frequently disfiguring.
Natural moisture in the eyes will quickly attract the ammonia, resulting in injuries ranging from mild irritation to complete, irreversible blindness. Moist tissue of the mouth, nose, throat and lungs are similarly attacked.
"Properly maintained anhydrous ammonia equipment has many safety features. The risk of exposure and injury is very low when equipment is used correctly. Personal protective equipment and safety procedures add an additional margin of protection," Maher says. "These types of injury do not have to happen."
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Source: George Maher (701) 231-8288
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629