Air Bag Question & Thoughts

Was going through my service manual, the air bag section and noticed that the driver's side air bag inflator module contains Sodium Azide and Potassium. Research shows Sodium Azide to be a highly toxic poison. Also contact with water can produce Sodium Hydroxide, which is a caustic. My questions ar has anyone had experience dealing with the chemicals either when they leaked or when the bag was deployed? What are your thoughts about chemicals like this being used in basically a closed environment where the powder could be inhaled or end up in your mouth or on your skin? Why can't they use Argon gas like they do in the passenger side deployment system?

As I understand it, the sodium azide itself does not survive deployment, so deployed bags are not harmful even if they break. The sodium azide is inside a canister in the bag, I think, not loose. Thus I think there's little hazard in the bags when they're in a car. The hazard seems to be in disposal of undeployed bags, and in getting the very nasty chemical down the road to the airbag factory, etc. Some junkyards make a routine practice of firing off the bags to make sure they are safe both from toxicity and accidental deployment, but I don't know if there are regulations requiring this.

From what the manual seems to indicate, I would believe the powder is not completely consumed. The manaul list both safety gear and procedure for removing the toxic residue from the vehicle.
Bill

It's not completely consumed, but they figure the exposure to a small amount is less damaging than sudden and forceful introduction to the steering wheel and/or windshield in event of an accident.