agents, polymers, antioxidants, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, plant growth regulators, and pharmaceuticals, such as the antibiotic isoniazid. Because hydrazine is a strong reducing agent, it is used as an oxygen scavenger to prevent corrosion in boiler water and hot-water heating systems. Hydrazine has been used as a principal component of missile and rocket fuels and as a component of fuel cells used primarily for military applications.

Hydrazine is a component of tobacco smoke. The quantity of hydrazine in mainstream cigarette smoke ranges from 24 to 43 nanograms (ng) per cigarette and averages 32 ng per cigarette (Liu et al. 1974; Hoffmann and Hecht 1990). The quantity in sidestream smoke (smoke emitted from a smoldering cigarette) might be higher than in mainstream smoke (for example, 94 ng) (Liu et al. 1974).

Air samples collected aboard the USS Cavalla (USS Cavalla 1986) indicated a concentration of hydrazine at 0.5 ppm. No information on sampling protocol, location, operations, or duration was available, and no information concerning the sources of hydrazine aboard the USS Cavalla was provided (NRC 1988).