There are various substances that are around us on earth. Some of them are good while some are not just bad but dangerous. Most of the dangerous ones are so deadly that they kill humans. These substances can be in gaseous, solid or liquid state. You have to watch out for these dangerous ones that can go as far as killing anybody.

Air is a mixture of gases but all the gases in air are not needed by man for respiration because they are dangerous gases. Maybe you need to know that the air contains gases such as nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon compounds, oxygen and the rare gases but in all these gases, man requires only oxygen. Maybe you also need to know that some carbon compounds in air such as carbon monoxide could be dangerous to human health. You will find out as you read on.

There are certain machines, devices or gadgets that we use that produce gases that are dangerous to our health. There are cars, airplanes, lorries, motorcycle, and other means of transportation that are in all the countries of the world. These technological machines make our movement from one place to another less difficult. However, these exact same machines produce gases that can cause serious health problems to human beings.

Exhaust pipes of vehicles produce carbon monoxide. This carbon monoxide is dangerous to health when inhaled because it reacts with the constituents of the human blood and body. What is carbon monoxide and how does it affect human?

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, flammable, and highly poisonous gas. It is a major product of partial combustion of carbon and carbon compounds. Carbon monoxide combines strongly with the iron atoms in hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the major oxygen-carrying compound in human blood. The affinity between carbon monoxide and hemoglobin is 240 times stronger than the affinity between hemoglobin and oxygen.

The combination between carbon monoxide and hemoglobin leads to carbon monoxide poisoning. The combination produces a dangerous compound known as carboxyhemoglobin which displaces the oxygenated blood carried by hemoglobin. This poisoning can lead to death. One unusual thing is that the victim will not feel as if anything is happening to him or her until it becomes too late.

One of the ways to treat carbon monoxide poisoning if the victim is still alive is to move the person to an environment where he or she will receive fresh air immediately because breathing pure oxygen from the fresh air can cause faster removal of carbon monoxide from the blood.

Another poisonous substance is radon. Radon is a radioactive gaseous element. Research has shown that it can cause cancer of the lings and other types of cancer.

Other poisonous substances are nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, fluorine, mercury and lead. Like radon, lead is a radioactive element and soft metal that can cause also cause severe health problems such as brain damage, cancer of the lungs, anemia, high blood pressure, impotence, anxiety, nervous breakdown and hyperactivity. It enters the human body through food, water and air in varying quantities. 65% of the substance enters the human body through food. 20% of the radioactive element enters the body through water and 15% of it enters through air. Research has shown that cigarette contains a negligible amount of lead. Research has also shown that food substances such as fruit, vegetables, meats, grains and soft drinks contain small quantities of lead.

Avoid these gases, elements or substances as much as you can so that they will not adverse effect on your health. Handle them with proper care if you are working in companies, factories or industries where they are used as raw materials.