Carbon Monoxide Poising
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Information collected from the National Fire Protection Association website.
What is Carbon Monoxide?
What is your risk of CO poisoning?
How you can protect yourself from CO poisoning?
Safety Tips
If your Carbon Monoxide Alarm sounds
Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
What is Carbon Monoxide?Back to Top
 Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel are possible sources of CO. Vehicles or generators running in an attached garage can also produce dangerous levels of CO.
However, consumers can protect themselves against CO poisoning by properly installing, using, venting, and maintaining their heating and cooking equipment; by installing CO alarms inside their homes; and by being cautious with vehicles or generators in attached garages.
What is your risk of CO poisoning?Back to Top
Deaths from unintentional poisoning by gas or vapors, chiefly CO - about 600 in 1998, including 500 homes, according to the National Safety Council - are fairly rate, and the number has been declining somewhat steadily, down by half since the early 1980s. Of all the unintentional gas and vapor poisoning deaths in the US, more than one-third involve motor vehicle exhaust gas, and more than one-fourth involve heating or cooking equipment. The total reflects more than CO-related deaths; it also reflects deaths resulting from other gases, such as natural gas leaks from pipelines.
The greatest risk to this deadly gas are unborn babies, infants, children and senior citizens.
Deaths from unintentional CO poisoning have dropped in recent years, thanks to lower CO emissions from automobiles and safer heating and cooking appliances. Deaths from "smoke inhalation" (largely CO) in fires and suicides involving CO are both far more common causes of gas-related suffocation deaths.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 207 CO-related nonfire deaths were attributed to heating and cooking equipment in 1996. The specific types of equipment were: |
- Gas-fueled space heaters (99 deaths)
- Gas-fueled furnaces (35 deaths)
- Liquid-fueled heating equipment (21 deaths)
- Charcoal grills (19 deaths)
- Gas-fueled ranges (15 deaths)
- Solid-fueled heating equipment (10 deaths)
- Gas-fueled water heaters (8 deaths)
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As with fire deaths, the risk of unintentional CO death is highest for the very young (ages 4 and under) and the very old (ages 75 or above).
How can you protect yourself from CO poisoning?Back to Top
CO can result from the following:
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- blocked chimneys
- corroded or disconnected flues (blockage, corrosion, rust holes, loose or missing connections)
- engine exhaust (auto, lawn mower, snow blower, generator)
- charcoal grills in or near enclosed areas
- gas clothes dryers
- fireplaces
- furnaces
- gas ranges
- wood burning stoves
- water heaters
- space heaters.
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Install CO alarms inside your home to provide early warning of accumulating CO. Household CO alarms measure how much CO has accumulated. Currently, CO alarms sound when the concentration of CO in the air corresponds to 10% COHb level in the blood. Since 10% COHb is at the very low end of CO poisoning, the alarm may sound before people feel particularly sick. Most CO alarms now have silence/reset buttons and must be immune to elevated ambient levels such as those found in urban areas.
However, a CO alarm is no substitute for safe practices. The best defenses against CO poisoning are safe use of vehicles (particularly in attached garages) and proper installation, use, venting and maintenance of household cooking and heating equipment.
Safety Tips: Back to Top
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- Install CO alarms (listed by an independent testing laboratory) inside your home to provide early warning of accumulating CO.
- CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each separate sleeping area.
- After purchasing an alarm, call your local fire department's non-emergency telephone number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds. Post that number by your telephone(s) and make sure everyone in the household knows the difference between the fire emergency and CO emergency numbers (if there is a difference).
- Test CO alarms at least once a month, and replace CO alarms according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- If you need to warm up a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle, generator, or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. CO from a running vehicle or generator inside an attached garage can get inside the house, even with the garage door open. Normal circulation does not provide enough fresh air to reliably prevent dangerous accumulations inside.
- If you have any symptoms of CO poisoning, have your vehicle inspected for exhaust leaks.
- Have fuel-burning household heating equipment (fireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, wood stoves, and space or portable heaters) checked every year before cold weather sets in.
- All chimneys and chimney connectors should be evaluated by a qualified technician to verify proper installation, and check for cracks, blockages, or leaks. make need repairs before using the equipment.
- Before enclosing central heating equipment in a smaller room, check with your fuel supplier to ensure that air for proper combustion is provided. NFPA 54, National Fuel Gas Code, provides requirements for openings to allow sufficient air for the proper combustion of gas.
- When using a fireplace, open the flue for adequate ventilation.
- Open a window slightly whenever using a kerosene or gas heater. Kerosene heaters are illegal in many states. Always check with local authorities before buying or using one. Only refuel outside, after the device has cooled.
- Only use barbeque grills - which can produce CO - outside! Never use them in the home or garage.
- When purchasing new heating and cooking equipment, select products tested and labeled by an independent testing laboratory. Do not accept damaged equipment! Hire a qualified technician (usually employed by the local oil or gas company) to install the equipment. As about - and insist that the technician follow - applicable fire safety and building codes.
- When purchasing an existing home, have a qualified technician evaluate the integrity of the heating and cooking systems, as well as the sealed spaces between the garage and house.
- When camping, remember to use battery-powered heaters and flashlights in tents, trailers, and motor homes. Using fossil fuels inside these structures is extremely dangerous. NFPA 1192, Standard on Recreational Vehicles, requires the installation of CO detectors in recreational vehicles.
- Boat operators should be aware that CO is emitted from any boat's exhaust. When your boat is moored or anchored alongside others', be aware of the effect your exhaust may have on those vessels and vice versa. The trim of the boat, as well as side curtains, can contribute to increased concentrations of CO by altering the air flow. Fuel burning appliance located in accommodation spaces need to be properly ventilated and maintained
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- If it is a battery-powered intermittent alarm, check the battery.
- If it is a steady alarm or you are unable to determine, evacuate the dwelling. Do not re-enter until the responding agency says it is ok.
- Report the CO alarm warning by calling the appropriate phone number.
- Call a qualified technician to inspect all equipment.
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Severe headache, dizziness, mental confusion, nausea, or faintness. Many of these symptoms are similar to the flu, food poisoning or other illnesses. |
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