Dealing with spills of hazardous chemicals: some nitrosamides

Spills of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea, N-methyl-N-nitrosourethane and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourethane can be decontaminated using a mixture of ethanol and saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution. Spills of N-methyl-N-nitroso-p-toluenesulphonamide, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine can be decontaminated with a solution of sulphamic acid in 2 M-hydrochloric acid. In all cases the nitrosamides are completely destroyed and only non-mutagenic reaction mixtures are produced.