This year, the Department of Labor Protection of the Ministry of Finance draws the attention of all wine-making employers to the dangers of must gas and to the necessary preventive measures to protect the health and safety of employees.

During the harvest season, due to carelessness and inattention, several fatal accidents and poisonings occur every year, even though the tragedies could be prevented with adequate precautions.

During must fermentation, must gas, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO²), which accumulates in basements starting from the floor level, and displaces oxygen from the air, causing suffocation.

Carbon dioxide is a permanent component of air, it is a colorless, odorless gas that is about one and a half times heavier than air. It is produced during the fermentation of sugar-containing plants and fruits, when the sugar breaks down, turning it into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. Since it is heavier than air, it fills the space, the basement and the passages from the bottom up, starting from the floor. In low concentrations, carbon dioxide irritates the respiratory center, in higher concentrations it causes suffocation due to lack of oxygen. It affects the central nervous system, the signs of which are dizziness, nausea, and mental disturbance.

During the fermentation of the must, in order to prevent sickness and suffocation, it is strictly forbidden to go down into the wine cellars without prior ventilation and air space analysis!

THE gas detector alarms in addition to his equipment, he ordered the opening of the cellar door to prevent tragedies locked artificial ventilation system use gives a suitable solution.

The Labor Protection Department of the Ministry of Finance also draws attention to the fact that the use of the so-called "candle test" alone cannot be considered reliable!

Because the flame of a candle usually only goes out with a carbon dioxide content of 14%, on the other hand, a person can suffer suffocation or fatal poisoning during a 5-10 minute stay in an atmosphere with a carbon dioxide content of 9%. And the 20% carbon dioxide-containing atmosphere can cause instant death.  

The Labor Protection Department of the Ministry of Finance recommends that for the time of the source of the must "Attention, must gas danger!"it is worth placing a sign at the entrance to the cellar.

Unfortunately, it happens in countless cases that they try to help collapsed and passed out people without proper protection, so they themselves inhale the dangerous must gas while helping.

That's why it's important to no one should recklessly try to rush to the aid of a fainting person! If it is not known what amount of toxic gas is present in the room from which we want to rescue the injured person, we risk our own lives if we go to the injured person without a closed-circuit breathing apparatus.

In such case you must immediately call the ambulance or the Disaster Management Directorate on the central emergency number 112 and try to ventilate the room. Firefighters can safely rescue victims of must gas poisoning using breathing apparatus.

If there is a way to adequately ventilate the basement and check the carbon dioxide concentration, the poisoned person must be freed from the place of poisoning as soon as possible, taken to the open air and, depending on the injured person's condition, first aid must be started until the ambulance arrives.

Source: http://www.ommf.gov.hu