Ammonia: Safety, Health and Environmental Aspects

Keywords: Ammonia safety.

This paper discusses safety, health and environmental (SHE) aspects of ammonia in respect of storage, handling and transport. The nature of ammonia trade and three main types of storage used in industry are briefly described. Potential hazards of ammonia are covered in terms of general physical/chemical properties, health and environment. The nature of accidental releases of ammonia, their dispersion behaviour in practice and their potential hazards are explained.

The paper presents summaries of five incidents: three involving sudden releases of ammonia into atmosphere due to catastrophic failures of containers/machine, one involving an explosion in an ammonia-air mixture and one of damage to river aquatic life from a spillage of ammonia solution. A number of SHE problem areas have been identified and discussed.

The activities, duties and experiences of the Ammonia Product Steward in ICI are briefly described in respect of the Responsible Care programme.

K D Shah, ICI Chemicals & Polymers Ltd., UK.

28 pages, 1 table.