Monsé, C/. Jettkant, B.,
Schramm, B.K.H., Broding, H.C.,
Knappe, M., Michl, M.,
Hoffmeyer, F., Sucher, K.,
Brüning, T. and Bünger, J.
2019
Effects of exposure
to carbon dioxide
in potash miners.
Advances in
Experimental Medicine
and Biology - Neuroscience
and Respiration
42: 1-10.
The claim of significant
direct health threats
from rising atmospheric
carbon dioxide failed to
withstand the scrutiny
of scientific inquiry,
according to recent studies
by Liu et al. (2017) and
Rodeheffer et al. (2018).
( see References, below)
NEW STUDY
Monsé et al. (2019):
10 German researchers
investigated the physiological
effects of long-term exposure
to elevated CO2 in miners
who experienced repeated
exposure to very high
CO2 levels on a regular basis.
93 miners were examined,
who worked in potash mines
of the Werra-Fulda district
in Hesse, Thuringia and
Saxony-Anhalt in Germany,
for a minimum of two years.
Miners had medical
examinations
before and after
underground shifts
that subjected them
to CO2 levels,
ranging from
near-ambient
to 15,000 ppm.
Examinations included
testing of thoracic
and abdominal organs,
laboratory analyses
of blood, urine and
lung function.
The authors categorized
the CO2 exposure levels
into one of three ranges:
less than 1,000 ppm,
1,000 to 5,000 ppm, and
5,000 to 15,000 ppm.
Results of the
medical examinations:
"failed to reveal
any signs of acute
and chronic
health hazard of
potash mining
related to
[elevated levels
of CO2 in]
the workplace."
"there were no
pathological
alterations
or short-term
adverse effects
of CO2 exposure"
on blood gas
content, adding that
"all measured values
remained within
reference values."
And they found
"no evidence of
any appreciable
influence on
lung function
of CO2 exposure
in potash miners,
nor any pulmonary
impairment comparing
pre/post work shift
conditions regardless
of the [CO2] exposure
severity."
The CO2 values
measured in the study
go far beyond
the limit of ~1500 ppm
that scientists think
is possible if society
utilized ALL of the
currently-known
fossil fuel reserves
on the planet.
References
Liu, W., Zhong, W. and Wargocki, P. 2017. Performance, acute health symptoms and physiological responses during exposure to high air temperature and carbon dioxide concentration. Building and Environment 114: 96-105.
Rodeheffer, C.D., Chabal, S., Clarke, J.M. and Fothergill, D.M. 2018. Acute exposure to low-to-moderate carbon dioxide levels and submariner decision making. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance 89: 520-525.