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CO2 or carbon dioxide has no odor, and cannot be sensed at low concentrations.

If you smell exhaust, you are probably smelling other things such as unburned oil or fuel, not CO2 (carbon dioxide) or CO (carbon monoxide), even though they are likely to be present as well.

In general, if you can smell exhaust, you should have your car (or whatever is emitting the exhaust) tested and probably repaired.

At normal low levels (0.05%) CO2 (carbon dioxide) is completely safe, but above 1% or so it can become life-threatening. At levels around 10% it can kill you in minutes.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is dangerous even at extremely low levels because it binds to the hemoglobin in your blood, making it impossible for your blood to hold oxygen. People with CO poisoning may have bright red lips, etc.

Natural gas is also odorless, so a very strong-smelling chemical (methyl mercaptan) is added in low concentrations to make it possible to notice gas leaks.

It should perhaps be noted that CO2 is naturally present in the atmosphere all around you and is also in every exhalation. It's not poison, per se, but like many things it can be dangerous in large amounts.

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11y ago
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Q: If you can smell exhaust is it CO2 poison?
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