Re:Tour de France riders are inhaling carbon monoxide in 'su...
by SketchySeaBeast on Friday July 12, 2024 @03:32PM
(#40948654)
You're right, carbon dioxide in large enough doses is no bueno, but even then it's more likely an issue of asphyxiation than anything else, and it's really a matter of scale. Carbon dioxide exist at ~400 ppm and safe at 5,000 ppm over 8 hours, compared to 50 ppm for carbon monoxide[1]. I know which one I'd rather use to substitute some oxygen for.
I was just trying to point out that if they wanted to induce hypoxia, there's better gases to be inhaling.
[1] https://www.indsci.com/en/blog/carbon-monoxide-vs.-carbon-di...
But anyway, that requires doing the exercise inside the controlled atmosphere. I'd guess the lure of carbon monoxide is that you can breath it, go out and exercise on a normal atmosphere. (That is, if you don't die on the first step.)
But then, if I had to guess I'd say the fact that the effects are long-term would reduce the athlete's performance. So yeah, I'd guess wrong.