On Apr 10, 8:39Â*am, TimR wrote:
On Wednesday, April 10, 2013 8:28:21 AM UTC-4, Frank wrote:
On 4/10/2013 8:10 AM, TimR wrote:

On Wednesday, April 10, 2013 12:23:32 AM UTC-4, wrote:

Do not mix bleach and ammonia unless you want to die. Seriously.

Urban legend.

There ARE some mixtures of products that are dangerous, but I'm not going to be more specific.

If you disagree with me, write the equation for the reaction.

Take it from a retired chemist.

Mixing bleach and ammonia makes chloramine which is not only highly

toxic but also explosive.

Uh, yeah. Â*That's why our municipal water supply uses chloramine in our drinking water as a disinfectant.

You do realize that in drinking water the chloramine is
at a few PPM, don't you? How does that have anything
to do with inhaling a concentrated gas right in front
of you when you're mixing bleach and ammonia?
To follow that silly analogy, then chlorine gas is also harmless
because chlorine at a few PPM in drinking water is a safe
disinfectant.
We all know that chlorine gas is deadly.



(for those who don't know: Â*The chlorine formerly used to give us safe drinking water could react with organics in the water supply and produce THMs, which are thought to be carcinogenic. Â*So most water supplies now use chloramine, a mixture of chlorine and ammonia. Â*It is a much weaker disinfectant than chlorine but longer lasting. Â*It's also much harder to keep regulated, which is why sometimes your water may smell like scotch or chlorine. Â*And yes, chloramine is toxic Â*- to koi. Â*Not to much else in reasonable concentrations)

Who says the concentration is going to be "reasonable"
when you mix bleach and ammonia?





And again I say: Â*urban legend, and I throw the BS flag on your chemistry degree. Â*Do you really not know the effect of pH on the equilibrium solubility of chlorine? Â*Even we stupid engineers have that one figured out.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


It would be the first urban legend that has numerous govt
sources, health sources, chemists, etc all saying it's true.
And with the medical reports to back it up.
You asked for the specific chemical reactions, here is
one source from a PHD:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/toxicc...nd-Ammonia.htm

Chemicals Involved
Note that each and every one of these chemicals is toxic, except for
the water and salt.

€¢NH3 = ammonia
€¢HCl = hydrochloric acid
€¢NaOCl = sodium hypochlorite (bleach)
€¢Cl = chlorine
€¢Cl2 = chlorine gas
€¢NH2Cl = chloramine
€¢N2H4 = hydrazine
€¢NaCl = sodium chloride or salt
€¢H2O = water

Likely Chemical Reactions from Mixing Bleach and Ammonia
The bleach decomposes to form hydrochloric acid, which reacts with
ammonia to form toxic chloramine fumes:
First the hydrochloric acid is formed:

NaOCl †’ NaOH + HOCl

HOCl †’ HCl + O

And then the ammonia and chlorine gas react to form chloramine, which
is released as a vapor:

NaOCl + 2HCl †’ Cl2 + NaCl + H2O

2NH3 + Cl2 †’ 2NH2Cl



And here is an example of the real world results from the New England
Journal of Medicine:


http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...99909093411115


Severe Lung Injury after Exposure to Chloramine Gas from Household
Cleaners

N Engl J Med 1999; 341:848-849September 9, 1999DOI: 10.1056/
NEJM199909093411115


The inhalation of the noxious fumes associated with the mixing of
household cleaners can lead to pulmonary irritation and pneumonitis.
Household ammonia (3 to 10 percent aqueous NH3) and bleach (5 percent
NaOCl) are two of the most common cleaning agents. Combining them
releases chloramine gas, which is a combination of monochloramines
(NH2Cl) and dichloramines (NHCl2). When inhaled, chloramines react
with the moisture of the respiratory tract to release ammonia (NH3),
hydrochloric acid (HCl), and oxygen free radicals. Typically,
exposures to low concentrations of chloramines produce only mild
respiratory tract irritation. In higher concentrations, the
combination of hydrochloric acid, ammonia, and oxygen free radicals
may cause corrosive effects and cellular injury, resulting in
pneumonitis and edema.1-4

Emergency tracheostomy was required in a patient because of upper-
airway compromise induced by chloramine gas. The patient, a previously
healthy 53-year-old woman, was cleaning a walk-in freezer at her
workplace with over-the-counter liquid ammonia and bleach. The door to
the freezer was closed, and there was no air exchange with the
outside. Approximately 30 minutes after beginning to clean, she noted
shortness of breath and called 911. Over the next three hours, she had
increased tightness of the throat and became unable to speak above a
whisper. Despite aggressive use of nebulized albuterol,
racepinephrine, and intravenous steroids, her symptoms progressively
worsened. Rapid-sequence intubation was attempted but was unsuccessful
because of swelling of the upper airway. Emergency tracheostomy was
performed. The initial chest radiograph was unremarkable, but
radiologic evidence of pneumonitis developed over the next four hours
(Figure 1Figure 1Chest X-Ray Film Showing Changes Characteristic of
Pneumonitis Four Hours after Exposure to Chloramine Gas from Household
Cleaners.). At the time the second radiograph was obtained, the
arterial-blood gas showed a pH of 7.23, partial pressure of carbon
dioxide of 49 mm Hg, and partial pressure of oxygen of 102 mm Hg while
the patient was breathing 100 percent oxygen with assisted
ventilation. The patient received supportive care. Her tracheostomy
was removed within five days, and she was discharged from the hospital
within seven days."


I suppose the NEJM just made up all that. And you can find plenty of
other stories where similar happened.