Asphyxiant gas can smell the odorants, and assigning a different smell to each gas may be impractical. Another difficulty is that most odorants (e.g., the thiols) are chemically reactive. This is not a problem with natural gas intended to be burned as fuel, which is routinely odorized, but a major use of asphyxiants such as nitrogen, helium, argon and krypton is to protect reactive materials from the atmosphere. The dangers of excess concentrations of nontoxic gases has been recognized for centuries within the mining industry. The concept of black damp (or "stythe") reflects an understanding that certain gaseous mixtures could lead to
Inerting (gas) of liquid is drawn from a tank, a similar volume of air will enter the tank's headspace, potentially creating an ignitable atmosphere. The inerting systems use an inert gas generator to supply inert make-up gas instead of air. This procedure is often referred to as "inerting". Technically, the procedure ensures that the atmosphere in the tank's headspace remains unignitable. The gas mixture in the headspace is not "inert" per se, it's just unignitable. Because of its content of flammable vapors, it will burn if mixed with air. Only if enough inert gas is supplied as part of a "purge-out-of-service" procedure,