Did I inhale toxic gases? Posted: 02-10-07 09:07am
Hello
I work at Burger King and have done so for
a while. We have at the restaurant this
big machine that flame-grills frozen
burger meat put into it.
Recently however, there were some
inspectors visiting the restaurant,
checking some things with the machine. In
an attempt to fix something I presume,
something happened which led smoke to come
out and fill the entire restaurant. The
smoke was dense and of gray color – it
had a vicious smell of fat/oil and meat.
I was standing at the machine while this
happened; I inevitably inhaled the smoke
directly for app. 5 minutes.
I didn’t have any acute symptoms
afterwards, maybe a little breathlessness;
a feeling that air didn’t fill my lungs
as effectively as usual. It is now a
couple of days later and I guess I’m
fine, but now I’m more concerned with
the potential long-term effects of this
inhalation of smoke.
Could this have caused any permanent
(maybe long-term) damage to any of my
organs?
|
DoctorAnswer
Doctor Answer
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General Q&A Answer A2357 Posted: 02-23-07 05:42am
That smoke from the grill probably
contains mainly CO2, which is not a toxic
gas. The other gases in the smoke (CO,
NO2, SO2) are toxic... but inhaled in very
small amounts can’t cause any permanent
damage to any of your organs.
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