You do not realise why I responded to your post. I have seen first hand what can happen when people are ignorant of the hazards associated with particular chemicals. Carbon dioxide as a chemical is in widespread use; solvent, refrigerant, pump, leavening agent, fire retardant and dozens more. When you posted that it was "virtually inert", you were being misleading. Not deliberately I'm sure but as a chemical, carbon dioxide is in such widespread use that it would be all too easy to give someone a potentially fatal wrong impression.
Here is a sample MSDS for carbon dioxide. NB Not the Australian standard.
Most users of the gas would be unfamiliar with its chemistry and could easily be lulled into a false sense of security if they had the wrong impression of its nature.
