Nitrogen Narcosis - from breathing air?

[boulderjohn]

I think you are confused: the "miners" you speak of were caisson workers, under pressure to keep the water out.

It did indeed happen in pressurized mies as well. It would not happen in an unpressurized mine.

 

[tursiops]

The first documented case was a coal mine worker in 1841, beats the first documented caisson worker afflicted by 13 year, you are correct that they did use air pressure to keep the water out. I would assume it has occurred in history prior to that too, just not documented/understood.

Yes I'm quite aware that pressures greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level is required.

How is the mine pressurized, if not sealed? Is this not a caisson?

 

[boulderjohn]

How is the mine pressurized, if not sealed? Is this not a caisson?

OK, they were in caissons in the mine.

 

[Rred]

If those miners were using compressed air to keep water out, then they were working in a caisson, and that makes it a caisson problem--not mining per se. I suspect using caissons and compressed air in mines may have been an experiment that was quickly dropped, because quarries and even gold/silver mines were routinely abandoned if flooding exceeding pump capacity. Still are.