CNN
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Some Houston-area residents have been asked to stay indoors after an anhydrous ammonia leak at a warehouse in Katy, authorities said Sunday.
“We are asking that residents shelter in place due to health risks,” said Dr. Ericka Brown, director of Harris County Public Health’s community health and wellness division. “If anyone is experiencing watery eyes, burning eyes, irritation of the nose or throat, difficulty breathing, we are asking that you proceed to the nearest emergency center to seek care.”
The county health department tweeted the areas affected by the shelter-in-place advisory.
Anhydrous ammonia is a pungent gas with suffocating fumes that is used as a fertilizer, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anhydrous means “without water.” If anhydrous ammonia combines with water in the human body, it can cause rapid dehydration and severe burns.
“There is no antidote for ammonia toxicity,” the CDC’s website says.
Symptoms of anhydrous ammonia exposure include breathing difficulty; irritation of the eyes, nose or throat; burns or blisters.
Those who get anhydrous ammonia in the eyes should wash the eyes with large amounts of water for 15 minutes.
Exposure to high concentrations of anhydrous ammonia can lead to death.
As of Sunday morning, no injuries have been reported in connection with the leak in Katy, the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office tweeted.
The cause of the leak was not immediately clear, and it’s uncertain how long the shelter-in-place advisory will last.
“We certainly will keep everyone up to date,” Brown said. “We do not have a time at this time of how long the shelter-in-place is going to be.”
CNN has reached out to the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office for more information.
