Does the air in the above-ground levels of Andersen Library contain harmful levels of hydrogen sulfide?
No. Monitoring done in Andersen Library shows that the air quality is no different than the air in Wilson Library or other buildings on campus. Peer Environmental has also done testing in the library caverns since before the library opened. But I know I can smell something. The nose is a highly sensitive detector of odors. While the danger level for hydrogen sulfide is 10 parts per million, the instruments used to test for hydrogen sulfide are sensitive enough to record one part per million. The human nose can detect even less than that. If you notice an odor of rotten eggs, it’s likely you smell hydrogen sulfide. It’s also likely that any smells are the result of a concentration of less than one part per million.
Related Questions
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