Were there any chemical fumes in that tank he might have inhaled along
with the nitrogen?

JJS wrote:
"Bryan Martin" wrote in message
oups.com...
snip

Releasing N2 in a sealed space will simply increase the pressure in the
room and cause no particular breathing problems because the room will
still have enough oxygen in it to breath. You won't have a problem
until the pressure gets high enough for the toxic effects of N2 to show
up (nitrogen narcosis). This takes several atmospheres of pressure.

Although part of what you say is true, I disagree with the above paragraph. In particular the part insinuating that
the nitrogen has to be pressurized to be toxic. I had a job related experience in which a contractor working under
supplied breathing air respirator had a near fatal incident. The catalyst vessel he was working in was under
nitrogen atmosphere to prevent the catalyst from going pyrophoric. There was no pressure on the vessel and the

Joe Schneider
8437R