The Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment warns the people who make wines in domestic conditions that a large volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted during fermentation and this poses a threat to life and health.
The carbon dioxide does not have smell and accumulates in noxious amounts in the inferior part of cellars, basements and other closed rooms where fermentation takes place, IPN reports, with reference to a press release of the Ministry.
CO2 can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and sight disorders. When it is in a great concentration in the air, it causes loss of consciousness and even death.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment recommends fermenting the wine only in well-ventilated places. The minors, pregnant women, elderly people and persons with health problems should not enter those areas.
The concentration of CO2 in places where fermentation takes place can be measured with the assistance of a burning candle. If the candles does not burn, the person should immediately leave the room and make sure the place is ventilated.
A person who suffered carbon dioxide poisoning can be saved if this is taken out of the toxic environment during the first minutes of the loss of consciousness.
