"George" wrote in message
...
Anhydrous ammonia is extremely toxic to people and to animals when it is
released as a concentrated gas cloud in accidents such as a train
derailment or a barge accident. Soil contaminated with ammonic fertilizer
is another matter altogether. That said, I wouldn't recommend that either
be let loose in an uncontrolled way within the confines of the ISS.

Which is why I believe ISS doesn't use ammonia in the coolant loops that are
inside the pressurized confines of ISS. It's only used on the outside, so
you could only bring it into ISS through the airlock. But luckily when
you're doing an EVA, you're in vaccuum and any ammonia that gets on your
suit ought to quickly dissapate. But just in case, NASA had the astronaut
bask in the sun to help get rid of any lingering ammonia.

So in the end, you're not facing the same problem as you would on earth with
a cloud of ammonia that may not quickly dissipate.

Jeff
--
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety"
- B. Franklin, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1919)