"Specialists are currently assessing the level of toxins, but we can already say that the crew is not in danger in regard to their health," a source from Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
Roscosmos earlier reported that a caustic element from an air conditioning unit in the American segment of the ISS leaked into the station's atmosphere. The American segment on the ISS is currently isolated.
Extensive exposure to ammonia, a colorless nitrogen and hydrogen compound with a distinctive odor, causes respiratory failure and leads to the burning of the nose, throat and respiratory tract.
A crew of six specialists – Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts from the United States, Elena Serova, Alexander Samoukutyayev and Anton Shkaplerov from Russia, and Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy – are part of the ISS' Expedition 42. In March, Wilmore, Serova and Samoukutyayev will be replaced by Scott Kelly from the United States and Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka from Russia as part of Expedition 43.
