Gas and chemical exposure

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Symptoms depend on which gas or chemical is inhaled and how deeply and for how long it was inhaled.
Symptoms may include irritation of the eyes or nose, cough, blood in the sputum, and shortness of breath.
Chest x-rays, computed tomography, and breathing tests are used to determine how much lung damage has occurred.
Oxygen and drugs to open the airways and decrease inflammation are given.

(See also Overview of Environmental Lung Diseases.)
Many types of gases—such as chlorine, phosgene, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide, and ammonia—may suddenly be released during industrial accidents and may severely irritate the lungs. Gases have also been used as chemical warfare agents.
Gases such as chlorine and ammonia easily dissolve and immediately irritate the mouth, nose, and throat. The parts deep inside the lungs are affected only when the gas is inhaled deeply. A common household exposure occurs when a person mixes household ammonia with cleansers containing bleach. The irritant gas chloramine is released.
Some gases—for instance, nitrogen dioxide—do not dissolve easily. Therefore, they do not produce early warning signs of exposure, such as irritation of the nose and eyes, and they are more likely to be inhaled deeply into the lungs. Such gases can cause inflammation of the small airways (bronchiolitis) or lead to fluid accumulation in the lungs (pulmonary edema).
Silo filler’s disease (which mostly affects farmers) results from inhaling fumes that contain nitrogen dioxide given off by moist silage, such as fresh corn or grains. Fluid may develop in the lungs as late as 12 hours after exposure. The condition may temporarily resolve and then recur 10 to 14 days later, even without further contact with the gas. A recurrence tends to affect the small airways (bronchioles).
Inhalation of some gases and chemicals may also trigger an allergic response that leads to inflammation and, in some cases, scarring in and around the tiny air sacs (alveoli) and bronchioles of the lung. This condition is called hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Radioactive gases, which may be released in a nuclear reactor accident, may cause lung cancer and other cancers many years after the exposure.
Other inhaled gases may cause a general body poisoning (including breathing difficulty) because they are poisonous to the body