Carbon Dioxide is a colorless and odorless gas with a slightly acidic taste. It is a waste product of the metabolic process in humans and is also consumed by plants during photosynthesis. Carbon Dioxide occurs naturally in the atmosphere and makes up approximately 0.03% of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is mainly used in the industrial world for the manufacture of beverages and as a heat transfer medium in nuclear power stations. Medical gas use of carbon dioxide is a very small fraction of the overall use of the gas throughout the world.
Carbon dioxide itself is not combustible and in normal use presents no risk of fire or explosion. The gas can be handled in equipment constructed from any of the common engineered materials for this type of gas. Such as fire extinguishers gas. As with all compressed gases, care should be taken when handling, storing, or transporting. In a gaseous form carbon dioxide is mildly toxic to humans. The gas will have negative effects on the body at concentrations as low as 7% for an extended period of time and can cause death through asphyxiation in a few minutes at concentrations approaching 50%.
