ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A 30-year-old Spanish woman has died of apparent intoxication after cleaning her kitchen for two hours using a product containing ammonia.

The woman, who lived in Madrid, called the emergency services complaining of feeling faint. But when they arrived she was found on the floor of her kitchen suffering from cardiac arrest. Paramedics tried CPR for 30 minutes before declaring the woman dead.

"'Everything points to intoxication from inhaling ammonia," said a spokesman for the Agency of Security and Emergencies of Madrid.

Exposure to high concentrations of the chemical can burn a person's eyes, nose and throat. It can also lead to lung failure, heart failure and can overpower the brain's defences to cause brain damage. Ammonia is commonly found in glass cleaning products, oven cleaners and toilet bowl cleaners.

Death from exposure to household cleaning products is rare since unlike industrial products which are often highly concentrated, products made for domestic use are usually supplied in a diluted form. But Dr Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a medical toxicologist at the National Poison Control Centre, says all cleaning products are irritants.

'The problem is the symptoms are not always that bad, so people may keep cleaning," she said. "However, prolonged exposure will irritate the lungs.

"The best thing you can do is to use one agent at a time, take breaks and make sure that the space is ventilated where possible."