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From: Chemical Hazards Handbook
Section: 2 Chemicals and Chemistry - Toxicity - Toxic effects - Respiratory system -
Asphyxia

Some gases, like methane and nitrogen, although they have little effect on the body itself, can displace oxygen in air and cause suffocation or asphyxia. Other chemicals like carbon monoxide work like this but on a cellular level, where they stop cells taking up or using oxygen in the blood.


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