Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs

Is Carbon dioxide a pollutant?

Due to the health risks associated with carbon dioxide exposure, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration says that average exposure for healthy adults during an eight-hour work day should not exceed 5,000 ppm (0.5%). The maximum safe level for infants, children, the elderly and individuals with cardio-pulmonary health issues is significantly less. Carbon dioxide is toxic to the heart and causes diminished contractile force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide I'm asking if it's a pollutant? If it's toxic for us to breath then isnt it a pollutant? What if you live next to a factory or refinery that emitting co2? Is that safe? Is it a Pollutant then?

Public Comments

Without CO2 you would die but overexposure to CO2 is harmful. It like everything else, water is vital but too much is harmful, food is vital but too much is harmful, etc.
so in other words any gas that's toxic to us is a pollutant is what you are saying.
Carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant, it is essential to life on earth. The greatest increases in diversity of life has occurred when carbon dioxide levels were higher than they are today. To address your general update, no it is not a pollutant, and it is not toxic as part of general breathing. Carbon dioxide is less a tenth of a percent of our atmosphere. Nitrous Oxide is less than a thousandth of a percent of our atmosphere, yet they give it to us in dentist's offices. Is Carbon dioxide toxic in high concentrations in our bloodstream. Yes. Nitrous Oxide? Yes. Oxygen? Yes-Oxygen is toxic if we breathe 100% for a significant amount of time. Is Carbon dioxide toxic at even triple current atmospheric concentrations? No. Even at triple, we are not yet at one-tenth of one percent of the atmosphere.
We're at 391 ppm now. It will never get to high enough levels to ever be a danger. Oxygen at high enough levels is dangerous too. It's not a pollutant and it's not toxic.
Carbon dioxide is plant food.