Safety Tips: Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas—making it impossible to detect without proper equipment. Despite its invisibility, CO is extremely dangerous, causing serious illness or death with little or no warning.

CO is found in combustion fumes that are often produced by small gasoline engines, automobiles, gas ranges, heating systems and burning charcoal or wood. CO is often mixed with gases that do have an odor, so you can be breathing CO along with those gases that you do smell and not even know that CO is present.

Every year, approximately 400 Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, with more than 100,000 visiting the emergency room for treatment, and more than 14,000 being hospitalized.

CO prevents oxygen from reaching vital organs, leading to suffocation, loss of consciousness, and death in just minutes at high levels. Milder exposure can mimic the flu, making symptoms easy to overlook.

Common symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. Severe exposure to CO will lead to loss of consciousness and death.

Everyone is at risk for poisoning when CO is present in a poorly ventilated area, but certain people are more susceptible to severe symptoms sooner than others. Infants, children, elderly people, and those with lung or heart disease are at an even greater risk for CO poisoning. Here are some other factors to consider:

• Occupational: Jobs in environments exposed to gases that often contain CO, such as welders, mechanics, firefighters, toll-booth or tunnel attendants, engine operators and many others
• Environmental: Lack of ventilation in a given space along with potential CO hazards commonly found in homes, such as gas-fueled appliances, wood-burning stoves or fireplaces, charcoal grills, portable generators and motor vehicles

Knowledge is the key to preventing CO poisoning. In most cases of unintentional poisoning, victims did not realize that CO was building up in the air. The simplest step to protect against CO poisoning is to install a CO alarm on each level of your home and near all bedrooms. They are inexpensive and easily found in any home improvement store.

Here are some other tips to remember:

• Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home
• Never use a gas or charcoal grill or portable camping stove inside a home, tent, or camper
• Never run a generator or other gas-powered engine inside a house, garage or other enclosed structure, even if windows and doors are open
• Never run a motor vehicle, generator or other gas-powered engines outside an open window or door where exhaust can vent into an enclosed area
• Never leave the motor running in any vehicle parked inside an enclosed or semi-enclosed space, such as a garage or carport

If you or someone else experiences CO symptoms, get to fresh air immediately and call 911. Never re-enter the building until emergency responders declare it safe.

CO poisoning is preventable. Knowing the risks and taking simple precautions can save lives. Install alarms, ensure proper ventilation, and never ignore the warning signs.