Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation

In Girl in the Glass, when James feels lightheaded despite using his oxygen tank, he peels back the label and learns the tank’s true contents are nitrogen. When he later tells Declan he was poisoned, the professor informs him nitrogen isn’t poisonous, yet it can still be deadly.

“Nitrogen gas isn’t poisonous, it makes up the vast majority of Earth’s atmosphere. Breathing pure nitrogen would slowly asphyxiate you without realizing it, breathing comfortably the entire time.”

Nitrogen gas asphyxiation (also called nitrogen suffocation or nitrogen hypoxia) is a dangerous and potentially fatal condition that occurs when a person inhales a high concentration of nitrogen, displacing the oxygen in the air they breathe. Nitrogen makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, while the remainder is mainly oxygen. At these concentrations, nitrogen is inert and harmless. However, when the nitrogen concentration becomes too high it displaces oxygen, starving the body of the oxygen essential for cells and organs. As James learns, Nitrogen is odorless, colorless, and undetectable by human senses, making it especially dangerous in enclosed spaces, like a ship’s cabin, where it can accumulate quickly. As James learned the hard way, as oxygen levels decrease, mental functioning can become impaired, leading to poor coordination and loss of consciousness.