== Warnings == <span style="color:red; font-weight:bold">⚠️ Let them know that you do not want to be resuscitated. Stick warning signs near your body cautioning hazmat or suicide by toxic sodium azide.</span> Sodium azide itself is fairly stable and can be handled under routine conditions without a significant risk of an explosion. There is no risk of explosion in aqueous solutions of sodium azide. The solid is, however, thermally unstable and if heated above 275 °C undergoes violent decomposition. In fact, sodium azide is used in airbags for this very reason. A vehicle, upon sensing an impact, will send an electrical charge that heats the sodium azide to high temperatures – causing the rapid formation of nitrogen gas. Sodium azide is very toxic to aquatic life and may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. It forms explosive azides in contact with heavy metals (e.g., such as lead, copper, zinc, cadmium, or nickel) and liberates very toxic gas, hydrazoic acid, in contact with strong acids. * Never use a metal spatula to weigh out sodium azide. Use plastic, ceramic, or other materials. * If your weighing scale has a metal base, put a plastic cup on the scale, weigh it, add powder into cup till you get the amount you require. * [https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2151150/Killed-fumes-airbag-Father-59-died-crash-glass-pierced-bag-releasing-noxious-chemicals.html Inhalation] is a likely route of accidental exposure for sodium azide powder or sodium azide solution. * Clean the work area by wiping with soap and water once your work is done. Always wash your hands after your work is done. * Under no circumstances should you pour sodium azide solutions down the drain. Reaction with lead or copper pipes can build up highly explosive azide salts. In a well-ventilated room or an open area, ingesting 10―15 g sodium azide does not endanger bystanders. However, attempting resuscitation on a person who has ingested sodium azide can expose those attempting help to serious danger. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation can result in the rescuer's exposure to dangerous hydrazoic acid. The presence of hydrazoic acid which is released in the chemical reaction of azide with hydrochloric acid (in gastric lavage contents) cause a characteristic dull odour. Those choosing to use azide to commit suicide must display a clear sign indicating that this substance has been used. This will help protect emergency medical staff or police from accidental toxic exposure. If vomiting has occurred, the toxic vomit must be avoided for the same reason. Antiemetic reduces the chance of not only vomiting but also exposure for first responders. Still, the Police Department and the Fire Department usually treat sodium azide poisoning with an abundance of caution, sometimes severely overreact. [http://kiss.kstudy.com/thesis/thesis-view.asp?key=3367257 (Nam, Kim, Cho, Chung, Lee & Kim, 2008)] reported a lethal case of sodium azide ingestion. A 31-year-old comatose female was unconscious for 20 minutes with an empty bottle labeled sodium azide. She was transported to the emergency department. After 10 minutes, her blood pressure dropped to 80/50 mmHg. She developed cardiac arrest 15 minutes after arrival and expired in spite of 30 minutes of resuscitative effort. Subsequently, resuscitation team members incidentally suffered from sodium azide' s exposure and developed eye discomfort, skin rashes parasthesias, pruritus, sore throat, and headache. In June 2018, [https://www.mdedge.com/emed-journal/article/168330/toxicology/when-poisoned-risk-poisoning-others-fatal-sodium-azide (Ciesla, Calello & Nelson, 2018)] reported that a 24-year-old man in cardiac arrest was brought to the ED via emergency medical services (EMS). Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Little was known about the patient, but the emergency physician was informed that the patient had ingested sodium azide (NaN<sub>3</sub>), which he had ordered online. The patient collapsed shortly after ingesting the sodium azide, approximately the same time police officers arrived at the patient's home. No specific details were known about the patient's ingestion. Upon learning of the exposure to sodium azide, a member of the ED staff contacted the local poison control center for information on the proper course of action to ensure staff safety and limit exposure. Shortly thereafter, several of emergency medical technicians and police officers, who had responded to the emergency assistance call for this patient, presented to the ED with concerns of exposure. None of the exposed first responders experienced dizziness, light-headedness, or irritation, and after a period of observation in the ED, they were discharged home without further sequelae. All hospital staff involved in the patient's care, including those who performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the patient and cleaned his room, were advised to use protective equipment when handling the patient and bodily secretions. None of the health care workers developed abnormal clinical findings. Given the hazard in conducting a full postmortem examination, the medical examiner opted to send blood, bile, urine, and vitreous humor out for analysis, but did not conduct a full postmortem examination. Notably, the stomach was not opened, and its contents were not exposed. The deceased most likely had access to the PPH, considering that he committed suicide after the inorganic-salts chapter had been added.