Ammonia is usually found at home in the form of fertilizers, cleaning and bleaching agents such as window cleaners, and floor wax strippers. Exposure to this range of ammonia concentrations is sufficient to cause irritation and minor burns of mouth, throat, skin and eyes if left unattended. Please keep ammonia-containing products out of the reach of small children. Ammonia is also used in industrial processes such as bleaching and cleaning agents, fertilizers, refrigerants, explosives, synthetic fibers, and in the petroleum industry. Safety recommendations should be observed in the workplace to avoid harmful exposure to ammonia.
Humans commonly encounter low levels of ammonia in the natural environment.
High levels of ammonia occur when there is a spill or a leak from production plants, pipelines or containers during ammonia transportation. In addition, high levels of ammonia are present after application of fertilizers to farms and fields. Hazardous waste sites may have large amounts of ammonia gas in the air, dissolved ammonia in or nearby bodies of water, and ammonia bound to soil particles. Levels of ammonia in the environment decrease rapidly due to the action of living organisms, and the transformation of ammonia to other nitrogen compounds such as ammonium. Since ammonia has a strong pungent odor, most individuals are readily able to detect the presence of ammonia.