A 150-liter cylinder of carbon monoxide is stored in a 30.7-m3 room. The pressure gauge on the tank reads 2500 psi when the tank is delivered. Sixty hours later the gauge reads 2245 psi, indicating a leak. The Ceiling Threshold Limit Value (TLV-C) molar concentration of CO—that is, the concentration considered unsafe for even instantaneous human exposure—is 200 ppm (200 X 10-6 mol CO/mol room air). The temperature of the room is constant at 27°C.

(a) Estimate the average leak rate (mol CO/h). Do not assume that the gas in the cylinder behaves ideally.

(b) Calculate t min (h), the minimum time from delivery at which the average concentration of CO in the room could have reached the TLV-C concentration. Explain why the actual time to reach this concentration would be greater.

(c) Why could it be disastrous to enter the room at any time without proper personal protective equipment on, even at a time r < t min? (Think of at least three possible reasons.)