Which gas is a common combustion pollutant that is colorless and odorless and harmful to humans?

Which gas is a common combustion pollutant that is colorless and odorless and harmful to humans?

• A. Oxygen
• B. Nitrogen
• C. Argon
• D. Carbon Monoxide

Answer: (D)

Combustion pollutants include gases produced when fuels burn, and some of them can be invisible and tasteless, making them hard to notice. The gas that fits this dangerous profile is carbon monoxide. It is colorless and odorless, so people can be unaware of its presence in spaces where fuels are burning. Its danger comes from its affinity for hemoglobin, where it forms carboxyhemoglobin and reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to tissues. Even small amounts can cause headaches, dizziness, and confusion, and it can be fatal with prolonged exposure, especially in poorly ventilated areas. Carbon monoxide is commonly produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, such as in car exhaust, gas furnaces, or heaters that aren’t burning efficiently. The other gases listed aren’t typical combustion pollutants in this context: oxygen is essential for life, nitrogen and argon are inert gases that don’t pose the same acute toxicity from ordinary combustion.

Combustion pollutants include gases produced when fuels burn, and some of them can be invisible and tasteless, making them hard to notice. The gas that fits this dangerous profile is carbon monoxide. It is colorless and odorless, so people can be unaware of its presence in spaces where fuels are burning. Its danger comes from its affinity for hemoglobin, where it forms carboxyhemoglobin and reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to tissues. Even small amounts can cause headaches, dizziness, and confusion, and it can be fatal with prolonged exposure, especially in poorly ventilated areas. Carbon monoxide is commonly produced by incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, such as in car exhaust, gas furnaces, or heaters that aren’t burning efficiently. The other gases listed aren’t typical combustion pollutants in this context: oxygen is essential for life, nitrogen and argon are inert gases that don’t pose the same acute toxicity from ordinary combustion.