Black damp, also known as stythe or choke damp is a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide found in some coal mines. This gaseous mixture has low concentrations of oxygen and can thus act as an asphyxiant gas, suffocating miners. In addition to its danger to miners within the cave, black damp can be "exhaled" in large quantities from mines and cause asphyxiation on the surface.^[1]. The name black damp is believed to derive from the German word for vapors (dampf). The word damp is used in similar mining terms such as white damp (carbon monoxide), fire damp (typically methane), and stink damp (hydrogen sulfide). General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ... Suffocation redirects here, for the band, see Suffocation (band). ... Carbon monoxide, chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and highly toxic gas. ... Fire-damp is composed chiefly of methane with varying percentages of other gases. ... The simplest hydrocarbon, methane, is a gas (at standard temperature and pressure, STP) with a chemical formula of CH4. ... Flash point -82. ...

References

1. ^ "Breathing" coal mines and surface asphyxiation from stythe (black damp). BMJ. 1992 Aug 29;305(6852):509-10. PMID 1392998