NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Log 14: Confined Space kills
Log 14: Confined Space kills
I am a bit limited on explaining this one because I never took a college class about it however I can explain what I learned during confined space training for my OSHA 40 certification and my Confined space certification. It was quite some time ago so I can give you a shallow understanding of why Carbon Dioxide is so dangerous.
The human body over the centuries of adaptation has created specialized organs located off of the Carotid artery which detects the level of oxygen in the blood. This sense warns the person to adjust their breathing to prevent Hypoxia or Hyperoxia.
Air is usually around 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 0.04% carbon dioxide. These percentages can change based on one's environment but what is important is that some gases the body cannot detect and are odorless, tasteless, and invisible like carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
The only way you can detect that you are suffering from a high concentration is that you become dizzy and lightheaded, and worse you will eventually fall unconscious and can no longer escape from the gas and die
This is why we needed monitoring equipment to measure the PPM of specific gases in our work area. For example, in a confined space, airflow can be limited and exhaled carbon dioxide can build up to 50,000 parts per million of carbon dioxide. This concentration is life-threatening even if oxygen levels are still within a healthy range so your body won't even realize your life is at risk.
There is a chart based on time spent in an area and concentrations of gases in the air. All gases have an exposure graph of PPM and time saturation in the environment. You can work in gases harmful to the body but not for long periods without giving time for the body to detox itself.
If you can collect a large amount of gas and pressurize it into a tank and seal that for easy storage you can use the gas to silently and easily kill large numbers of sleeping individuals without anyone the wiser as no one will be able to sense that they are dying.
One of the reasons this is so dangerous is that because this gas is undetectable others will not realize what is the cause that people are unconscious.
When others come to investigate fallen allies or just enter the area they will also fall victim. They will enter an area and by the time they start to get dizzy and try to escape, they are too far in.
Footnote
Blood's Semantic Soul Connection What made me realize this is important is three examples Summoning, reincarnation, and the Jashin cult all use blood as a medium and I will explain why I think it's important