Ammonia:A colorless gas with a verysharpodor. Made both by humans and bynature,氨dissolves easilyinwaterand evaporates quickly. Liquid ammonia is found in many household cleaners. Ammonia is irritating to theskin, eyes,nose,throat, andlungs. Exposure to high concentrations in the air can severely burn the skin, eyes, throat, or lungs. In extreme cases, blindness, lung damage, ordeathcan occur. Breathing lower concentrations causes coughing and nose and throat irritation. Swallowing ammonia may burn themouth, throat, andstomach.
The amount of ammonia produced by humans every year is almost equal to that produced by nature every year. Ammonia is produced naturally in soil by细菌, decaying plants and animals, and animal wastes. Ammonia isessentialfor many biological processes. Most of the ammonia produced in chemical factories is used to make fertilizers. The remaining is used in textiles, plastics, explosives, pulp and paper production,foodandbeverages, household cleaning products, refrigerants, and other products. It is also used in smelling salts.
