Ammonia Employee Awareness Training / Doc No: / LS.40
Revision No: / A
Revision Date: / 9/16/2015
Prepared By: / JE
SECTION: / Ammonia Refrigeration / Approved By: / EHS
SUB-SECTION: / Ammonia Employee Awareness Training / Pages: / 9

EMPLOYEE AWARENESS TRAINING

1.General Information

  1. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created a Standard to deal with the risks involved in the storage, handling and processing of highly hazardous materials.
  2. This is referred to as OSHA Standard 1910.119, Process Safety Management (PSM).
  3. The primary objective of this safety standard is to reduce the number of employee injuries and fatalities associated with releases of hazardous substances.
  4. Congress, industry leaders, and OSHA believe that the PSM standard will significantly reduce the risks to employees working around highly hazardous chemicals.
  5. The refrigeration system in this facility uses ammonia as a refrigerant to remove heat from the building and production areas.
  6. The ammonia is enclosed in pipes and equipment.
  7. Ammonia at low levels of concentration is harmless, just like the bottle of household ammonia - which is two percent ammonia by weight and available at grocery stores. But at high concentration levels, it is very toxic.
  8. Ammonia is classified as an extremely hazardous chemical and falls under this OSHA standard.

2.Training

  1. All employees must receive a minimum level of training. This is called Awareness Training. The training should make you aware that:
  1. Ammonia is used, in or near your work place, in the refrigeration system.
  2. There are serious hazards associated with ammonia exposure.
  3. There is a formal written program for ammonia safety at this facility.

3.The Program

  1. This Process Safety Management program provides information and procedures to prevent or minimize an accidental release of ammonia.
  2. This program attempts to anticipate future problems by identifying, evaluating, and preventing failures of the process that could result in a release of this chemical.

4.PSM Can Be Seen as a Fourteen Step Program

  1. Employee Participation: This program involves all employees in hazard awareness and allows access to the program. Employees involved in operating and maintenance of the ammonia system shall participate and cooperate in the development, review, and use of this program.
  2. Process Safety Information: The collection of written information, which enables the employees to identify and understand the potential hazards in the system. The information shall include drawings, safety information, equipment specifications and manuals, system design criteria, and operating parameters.
  3. Process Hazard Analysis: A formal review of potential hazards, the associated consequences, and the engineering and administrative controls in place. During the PHA, the participants make recommendations to minimize the risk of occurrence.
  4. Operating Procedures: A collection of written procedures detailing the safe operation and maintenance of the ammonia refrigeration system and equipment.
  5. Training: A program element that ensures the safe operation of the ammonia refrigeration system by training employees on the specific duties they perform and on all aspects of system operation.
  6. Contractor Qualifications: All contractors will be screened and evaluated before performing work on or near the ammonia refrigeration system. The contractors are also periodically evaluated to ensure that they perform work by following safe work practices.
  7. Pre-Startup Safety Review: A review process for ammonia projects, for changes to the ammonia system, and for changes to the PSM program. It verifies that all safety programs are in place, training for operating procedures is done, and process safety information has been completed before any changes are made and before the new process is brought online.
  8. Mechanical Integrity: This element manages the condition of the ammonia refrigeration system and safety equipment. It reviews the physical condition and the operating conditions to minimize unexpected breakdowns or failures.
  9. Hot Work Permit: Fire prevention procedures that use a signed permit to control and monitor any cutting, welding, or burning.
  10. Management of Change: Procedures to review and document all changes made to the ammonia refrigeration system.
  11. Incident Investigation: Procedures to record, investigate, and prevent re-occurrence of safety incidents and accidents in, on and around the ammonia system.
  12. Emergency Planning and Response: Procedures describing how this facility responds to emergencies and a plan for drills, community cooperation, safety equipment, response, and employee participation.
  13. Compliance Audits: Procedures and periodic audits of the entire PSM program to monitor compliance and effectiveness.
  14. Trade Secrets: Procedures ensure that employees are provided with safety related information while still protecting company secrets.

5.Information about Ammonia (NH3)

  1. At normal temperatures and pressures, ammonia is a colorless gas made up of one part nitrogen and three parts hydrogen.
  2. It is lighter than air and has a sharp, pungent odor that serves as a warning of its presence.
  3. While ammonia is a relatively toxic substance, it is not a cumulative poison. It is highly soluble in water and forms a solution known as ammonium hydroxide (NH40H) or aqua ammonia (commonly used as a household cleaner).
  4. “Anhydrous ammonia” means ammonia with no water content.
  5. This substance is used universally as an industrial refrigerant, as well as an ingredient in fertilizer.
  6. Ammonia is manufactured by combining free nitrogen and hydrogen gases, under high pressure and temperature in the presence of a catalyst.
  7. The process most commonly used is the Haber-Bosch method.
  8. Some important physical properties of anhydrous ammonia are:
  1. Boiling point temperature at atmospheric pressure is -28°F.
  2. Freezing point temperature at atmosphere pressure is -107.9°F.
  3. Latent heat of vaporization at 70°F is 508.6. BTU per pound.
  4. Liquid density at 70°F is 5.08 pounds per gallon.
  1. The U.S. Department of Transportation has classified anhydrous ammonia as a non-flammable gas.
  2. The nitrogen component of the ammonia is inert in the combustion reaction and accounts for the limited flammability of anhydrous ammonia.
  3. The flammable range of ammonia does not start until it reaches sixteen percent by volume in air.
  4. The flammable range ends when it reaches twenty-five percent by volume.

6.Uses of Ammonia

  1. Ammonia is the base for nitric acid. It is an important building block in the manufacture of many chemical compounds.
  2. Examples include cleaning fluids, catalysts used in the manufacture of plastics, and process constituents in the synthetic fibers industry.
  3. Agricultural grade ammonia is used as a fertilizer.
  4. It contains about 82% nitrogen, and therefore provides a soil supplement for the nitrogen absorbing cycle in plant growth.
  5. Industrial grade ammonia serves as a refrigerant.
  6. It is economical, abundantly available, and the most efficient heat transfer medium for industrial refrigeration.

7.Health Effects of Exposure to Ammonia

  1. Ammonia itself is not a cumulative poison.
  2. Ammonia is a naturally occurring body chemical. It is produced in the kidneys by the metabolism of proteins.
  3. The liver converts ammonia ions rapidly to harmless urea, which is used in the body process or is excreted in the urine.
  4. Ammonia is a moderately strong caustic (alkali).
  5. When mixed with water it forms hydroxyl ions that are corrosive.
  6. Anhydrous ammonia in liquid or gaseous form has a very strong attraction to water and moisture.
  7. This attraction to moisture targets bodily fluids (such as those in the eyes, nose, mouth, respiratory tract, and perspiration) and forms strong concentrations of aqueous ammonia that irritate body tissues and may cause injury.

8.Ammonia’s Self-Alarming Characteristic

  1. Ammonia can be a serious life-threatening hazard at high concentration levels. However, it has a very pungent, irritating, and recognizable odor at very low concentration levels of from five to fifty parts per million.
  2. At moderate concentration levels of from fifty up to two hundred parts per million, it is so intolerable that people will seek relief from its effects before it becomes a true health hazard.
  3. By comparison, the flammable range of ammonia is sixteen to twenty-five percent which correlates to 160,000 to 250,000 parts per million in air.
  4. The concentration level at which ammonia is flammable is about one thousand times higher than the uncomfortable and intolerable level for human exposure.

9.Effect of Ammonia Vapor in Various Concentrations

NH3 Vapor Concentration
(PPM) / Effect on Unprotected Workers / Exposure Period
20 / Noticeable odor to some people / Unlimited
25 / Recommended 8 hour exposure limit (ACGIH)
50 / Detectable odor / Permissible Exposure Limit for 8 hours (OSHA)
100 / Moderately strong odor, moderately irritating to the eyes and nose
300 / Causes major irritation of all moist body parts / Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (OSHA)
1,720 / Causes convulsive coughing / No exposure permissible (may be fatal after short exposure)
5,000 / Causes respiratory spasm, strangulation, asphyxia / No exposure permissible (rapidly fatal)
15,000 / Causes burns and blisters to unprotected skin / No exposure permissible (rapidly fatal)

Note:Most ammonia machine rooms, even well ventilated, will have concentrations around 5 PPM.

10.Exposure to Liquid Anhydrous Ammonia

  1. Eye damage is the most likely serious hazard when liquid ammonia contacts the eye.
  2. Unless the eye is flushed promptly (in less than 20 seconds), permanent damage or sight loss is likely.
  3. Therefore, eye protection and eye wash equipment are required.
  4. Contact between skin and liquid ammonia must be avoided.
  5. Anhydrous ammonia will destroy bodily tissue resulting in blister and chemical burns.
  6. Thermal freeze burns are possible due to the low temperature of liquid anhydrous ammonia.

11.First Aid: Immediate and Temporary Care for Exposure to Ammonia

  1. Time is of the essence when it comes to first aid for ammonia exposure.
  2. Any delay in performing immediate first aid increases the seriousness of the injury.
  3. Anhydrous ammonia that is undiluted in water can quickly be very damaging to body tissues.
  4. It is especially uncomfortable, irritating, and painful to the eyes, throat, breathing passages, and skin.

12.Eyes

  1. For eye exposure, move the person out of the contaminated area and begin flushing the eyes with large amounts of water.
  2. The eye(s) should be held open to assure water contact with the eyeball and the inner lining of the eyelid.
  3. The water can be splashed into the eyes, or the face can be immersed in water and the eyes opened and closed to assure irrigation.
  4. The eyes should be flooded with water for at least fifteen minutes before traveling to get medical assistance.
  5. A call for emergency medical assistance, if done promptly, will get medical assistance on site before the fifteen minutes of eye flushing has been completed.
  6. Seek immediate medical treatment from qualified medical personnel.
  7. People working with ammonia should not wear contact lenses.
  8. Some soft-contact lens materials may dissolve and stick to the eye surface when exposed to ammonia.
  9. Other contact lenses, if retained in the eyes, could cause additional damage since they hold the caustic substances on the eye.
  10. In almost all cases of eye exposure to ammonia, the patient should see an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) as soon as possible.

13.Inhalation

  1. Ammonia has a distinct odor that is very irritating.
  2. If the concentration is high, most people will move quickly seek fresh air. However, if a person’s escape is delayed or the person is unconscious, the ammonia has a suffocating ability.
  3. When ammonia gas is inhaled deeply, laryngeal and bronchial spasm, congestion of the lungs, and edema may occur.
  4. After inhaling ammonia, a person should be moved to an uncontaminated area.
  5. Seek immediate medical treatment if the person experiences chest pain, difficulty breathing, or a persistent cough.
  6. If the victim stops breathing, artificial respiration (CPR) should begin at once, and continue until patient regains consciousness.
  7. Seek immediate medical treatment from qualified medical personnel.

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14.Ingestion (Swallowing of Ammonia)

  1. If the person is conscious, large quantities of water should be swallowed.
  2. If the person is vomiting, place them face down, with head lower than hips, to prevent vomit from entering the lungs.
  3. If the victim is in shock or unconscious, do not give water or induce vomiting.
  4. Seek immediate medical treatment from qualified medical personnel.

15.Skin

  1. Liquid ammonia causes the water in the skin to freeze, expanding the cells to the point of rupture, producing burns.
  2. The skin should be flushed thoroughly with water for at least 15 minutes.
  3. If a large area has been exposed, the victim should get under a shower or in a water source, fully clothed and thoroughly rinse.
  4. Clothing may be carefully removed only after it is certain that both the clothing and the skin are thawed.
  5. Removal of frozen clothes could pull frozen skin and tissue from the injured person.
  6. Seek immediate medical treatment from qualified medical personnel.

16.GENERAL ANHYDROUS AMMONIA SAFETY

  1. ABOUT NH3 (Anhydrous Ammonia)
  1. NH3 has a strong pungent odor that typically cannot be tolerated by the human sense of smell.
  2. It only takes a small increase in temperature to cause an extreme, rapid increase in hydrostatic pressure in equipment that is completely filled with NH3.
  3. Cylinders completely full with liquid NH3 can rupture if the temperature of the liquid NH3 increases only a few degrees.
  4. Small volumes of liquid NH3 will produce large volumes of gas at atmospheric pressure.
  5. As temperature increases, the pressure increase in a container completely filled with NH3 is much greater than the pressure increase in a container in which both the liquid and vapor are present.
  6. Anhydrous Ammonia is only flammable under unique conditions.
  7. NH3 is not a carcinogen.
  8. Most NH3 injuries involve the eyes.
  9. Identification Number UN1005 is used to identify Anhydrous Ammonia during transportation by the Department of Transportation. (DOT)
  10. DOT requires all carriers to have an emergency response guidebook within reach of the driver.
  11. SDS Sheets contain emergency action information for NH3.SDS sheets can be found in the PSM Manual, employee break room, and on file with the facility Safety Director
  12. NH3 in a transport truck or storage tank can exist as a vapor or liquid.
  1. EFFECTS OF NH3 (Anhydrous Ammonia)
  1. NH3 can cause chemical burns, dehydration of the body, and in some cases Death.
  2. Personal Protective Equipment is ALWAYS required when dealing with Liquid or Vapor NH3 because of the hazards associated with this chemical.
  3. NH3 is extremely hazardous to the eyes. Eye exposure to Liquid NH3 is more damaging than NH3 Vapor, however exposure to either can cause damage that is usually immediate and irreversible.
  4. Exposure to NH3 can result in immediate damage to body tissue due to NH3’s affinity for water.
  5. NH3 may cause blindness, dehydration of the body tissue, and chemical burns.
  6. Liquid NH3 spills on clothing can freeze the clothing to the body.
  7. NH3 exposure is typically immediate/acute. NH3 does not have cumulative effects to the body.
  8. NH3 is not a metabolic poison
  1. PRECAUTIONS and ACTIONS TO TAKE WITH NH3
  1. Consult facility PPE or Hazard Assessment before beginning any work with NH3.
  2. Personal Protection must be used. Common forms of PPE will include Chemical resistant gloves and body protection, chemical splash goggles and face shield, and a properly fitted air-purifying or air-fed respirator.
  3. Never wear contact lenses when potential exposure to NH3 liquid or vapor exists.
  4. Eye exposure to NH3 should be treated by calling for medical attention, flushing immediately with water, occasionally lifting upper and lower eye lids. Flush eyes for 15 minutes.
  5. If clothing is saturated by liquid ammonia, flush area with large quantities of water. Remove clothing only after thawing and can be pulled easily from the skin.
  6. Only Trained ammonia technicians and operators are authorized to perform work on NH3 systems.
  7. Welding is prohibited on both non-pressurized and pressurized vessels containing NH3.
  8. All welding on NH3 systems can only be performed by a certified welder.
  9. Only trained operators or NH3 technicians should attempt to stop an NH3 leak.
  10. Report all leaks immediately.
  11. Blocking valves must be closed if removing any gauges, valves, caps or plugs.
  12. When removing caps or plugs from ammonia equipment, loosen the caps or plugs slowly and jiggle to vent any trapped NH3. This will reduce potential for a rapid release of NH3.
  13. In the event of an ammonia leak you should always move laterally and upwind to avoid the hazards of the vapor.
  14. If a leak has been detected you should:

1)Move upwind of the leak

2)Notify Management or NH3 Operator and personnel in the area.

3)Assess situation and containment procedures.

4)Implement EAP/ERP procedures if required

  1. Water spray can be used downwind to knock down NH3 vapors. DO NOT apply water directly to source leak or to vessels containing ammonia.This should only be performed by trained personnel.
  2. Higher than normal pressures on vessels should be reported to Management immediately.
  3. Attendant must remain on site for entire process of receiving NH3 from truck or other container.
  4. Personnel overcome by ammonia vapor should be moved to fresh air if possible.
  5. CPR – First Aid trained personnel are the only persons authorized to administer first aid.
  6. Corrective actions for a NH3 leak may only be performed by NH3 operators who are trainedand qualified in the use of full face respirators. If at any time the PPM of NH3 is unknown, a self-contained breathing apparatus SCBA shall be used.
  7. NH3 operators able to detect NH3 odor while wearing a respirator may have an improperly fitted respirator, a canister or cartridge that has reached its absorption capacity, or the concentration (PPM) is too high for its use.

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