Asphyxiant Gases in Mining
The dangers of excess concentrations of nontoxic gases has been recognized for centuries within the mining industry. The concepts of black damp (or "stythe") and afterdamp reflect an understanding that certain gaseous mixtures could lead to death with prolonged exposure. Early mining deaths due to mining fires and explosions were often a result of encroaching asphyxiant gases as the fires consumed available oxygen. Early self-contained respirators were designed by mining engineers such as Henry Fleuss to help in rescue efforts after fires and floods. While canaries were typically used to detect carbon monoxide, tools such as the Davy lamp and the Geordie lamp were useful for detecting methane and carbon dioxide, two asphyxiant gases. When methane was present, the lamp would burn higher; when carbon dioxide was present, the lamp would gutter or extinguish. Modern methods to detect asphyxiant gases in mines led to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 in the United States which established ventilation standards in which mines should be "...ventilated by a current of air containing not less than 19.5 volume per centum of oxygen, not more than 0.5 volume per centum of carbon dioxide..."
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