Hypoxic Death with Inert Gas Coronavirus Protection Helmets
A second means of creating a no-oxygen, low carbon dioxide environment for a peaceful ‘happy hypoxic’ death is to use one of the new ‘PPE’ helmets (Personal Protective Equipment) that have been developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus protection helmets are marketed by companies such as Vyzar and MicroClimate Air in the US. They are designed to protect the wearer from coronavirus contamination by drawing in filtered air. These helmets are fed by filtered, positive pressure air. Standard industrial protective safety headgear by companies such as 3M operate on the same principle.
For each of these helmets, it should be possible to replace the filtered air supply with pure nitrogen, drawn from a compressed gas source. The helmets act as a solid head capsule that replaces the plastic Exit bag. The positive pressure feed of nitrogen gas prevents any oxygen contamination within the helmet gas from the surrounding environment. This will also keep carbon dioxide levels to a minimum.
The Process
In the case of a helmet, there is no need to pre-fill the space. With an air-feed operating, the wearer of the helmet would hyperventilate for a minute or two and then switch the helmet gas supply to nitrogen. The flow rate is ~25 liters/ minute (or greater) in order to ensure a rapid decrease in the level of oxygen within the helmet. Unlike with the Exit bag, with a helmet there will be no immediate loss of consciousness.With a helmet, it may take up to a minute before loss of consciousness. During these ~60 seconds, the user is likely to experience hypoxic disorientation.
