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Ann Tatum <br />-2- February 27, 1995 <br />not injured by concentrations as high as 50 percent in air. Some flowering plants showed slight leaf <br />browning at 96 hours with 50 percent natural gas atmosphere. In another study, the greening of <br />wheat seedlings was completely inhibited by exposure to methane at levels of (greater than) 95 <br />percent (Wolf and Kidd, 1973). Gustafson (1944) investigated the effects of natural gas of 1 to 2 <br />percent concentration over 2 to 3 week periods on a large number of flowering plants in a greenhouse <br />setting. No effects on growth were seen, and germination occurred when natural gas levels were <br />raised to 5 percent in air." <br />It is our understanding that the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration requires that the methane <br />concentration from the NW-1 exhaust fan remain at 2.0 percent or less. Based on this requirement, <br />we believe the conclusions reached in the 1978 report indicate that the air being expelled from the <br />exhaust fan does not contain concentrations of methane high enough to affect the growth of <br />vegetation. <br />Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any <br />further assistance we may provide. <br />Sin~~//ce/~/r~~ely, / <br />L UA' <br />Daniel L Hernandez <br />Senior Environmental Protection Specialist <br />cc: Randall Price, DMG <br />Susan McCannon, DMG <br />m:~oss~muT~z.a~n <br /> <br />