Rust kills, but not in the way you’d expect; while you may (incorrectly) associate rust with tetanus, the real way rust kills is through suffocation. Because rust is formed when iron reacts to and uses oxygen, enclosed rust-filled spaces often have low oxygen levels. And because the body only detects high levels of carbon dioxide and not a lack of oxygen, your body doesn’t provide any warning signals. (Sorry for this quite ominous summary…however, we thought it is information worth knowing).
Read full article here
Science
An Eerie Poisonous Fog
If you’re visiting a farm, keep an eye out for an ominous-looking bronze fog. Nitrogen tetroxide, a red-orange gas, is made by certain bacteria during fermentation when oxygen is lacking in the crop. The lack of oxygen causes the bacteria to use the nitrate within the crops, which then produces nitrogen tetroxide. Inhalation of the gas is known to cause permanent lung damage or kill people and livestock. To prevent this, farmers have started performing nitrate tests after four weeks of fermentation. Read full article here
Merv
November 30, 2022
