posted on May, 18 2003 @ 11:13 AM
A tunnel is a wound in the earth. The wound allows gases trapped in the soil to escape. Outgassing substances that are either toxic, or, at best,
are not toxic but not oxygen. Reducing the oxygen percentage below the 19% barely-capable-of-supporting-life minimum. If you took a mine entry class,
they would tell you not to enter a mine without oxygen samplers, scaling tools, mine rescue personell, emergency medical techs and equipment, etc.
Posted by Researcher
Researcher is correct: up in NY, most of the rock units are granite or at least igneous in nature. You likely have some Carbon Monoxide and Methane
being released if any coal deposits are anywhere near, but you deffinitely have Radon gas coming out. Radon is colorless, odorless, tasteless, heavier
than air, and is produced as a byproduct from the minute amounts of uranium found in granite, therefore is slightly radioactive.
Radon has been linked to some forms of lung cancer, and frequently penetrates into underground structures. Hence, the interest in Radon detectors for
the home in those kinds of areas.
Because Radon is heavier than air, the deeper you penetrate a cave, the more exposure you get, and it is possible to go into a deep enclosed dip, and
you may be in an environment where Radon has been trapped, displacing all oxygen, and you suffocate.
These considerations are aside from the fact that you really have no idea what kind of structural condition this cave is in, or how old it is. Caveins
happen totally at random, and it is easy to get trapped or killed in one. Your survival chances rapidly dwindle to nill if one happens, and no one
knows your in there to begin with!
I would not go poking around in these caves, especially in that environment, without proper equipment, including hard hats, lights, an O2 meter.