All About Carbon Monoxide

Oct 20, 2011
Toby Welch

Having a CO Detector in Your Home Can Save Lives - Sideroxylon

Carbon monoxide is a silent but deadly toxic gas.

Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas that continues to kill people.

As Kidde Canada, the Canadian industry leader in protecting people and property from the dangers of fire, pointed out, “Carbon monoxide (CO) is a serious danger and one that many people do not understand. It is the #1 cause of unintentional poisoning deaths in North America. In Canada, there are approximately 1,000 reported poisonings and 250 deaths per year due to carbon monoxide."

Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless so most people have no idea they are being exposed to it. It is a bigger problem these days as newer homes are built air-tight and super-insulated; they don’t have the air flow of older homes that allowed air leakage.

How Does Carbon Monoxide Kill?

When you breathe in carbon monoxide, the gas binds itself to the haemoglobin in your blood. Once the attachment happens, your blood loses the ability to transport oxygen and you suffocate; essentially you suffer from oxygen starvation. It is especially dangerous when you are sleeping as you aren’t conscious to recognize the symptoms.

Even slight exposure to CO has negative effects on your body and can have serious long-term health effects:

0-2 parts per million (PPM) – typical level in a Canadian home
25 PPM – maximum allowable safe amount for an adult
70+ PPM – symptoms become noticeable for most people
200 PPM – headache and fatigued after a few hours
400 PPM – severe headache after a few hours
800 PPM – dizzy and convulsing within an hour
1,600 PPM – nausea within 20 minutes, death within two hours
2,000 PPM – you lose consciousness pretty quick
3,000 PPM – dizzy after 5 minutes, dead after 30 minutes
13,000 PPM – death after a couple minutes

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Mild exposure – Runny nose, headache, sore eyes, fatigue, irritability, mild exertion, and shortness of breath

Medium exposure – Disoriented, confused, difficulty thinking, drowsy, dizzy, vomiting, chest pains, and loss of eyesight

High exposure – Unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, brain damage, coma, death

Carbon monoxide poisoning can feel a lot like the flu or seasickness in its initial stage. As with most health issues, symptoms vary from person to person.

What Causes Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon monoxide is a gas that is created when you burn fossil fuels such as natural gas, oil, gasoline, kerosene, wood, charcoal, etc.

The most common things that expose people to CO in their home are:

Cars
Gas appliances
Cooktop vent
Wood stoves
Fireplaces
Chimney
Kerosene lamps
Water heaters
Heating equipment
Heat exchanger
Gas powered tools
Lawn mower and other gas powered yard equipment
Barbecues and space heaters meant for outdoor use but are inside
Barbecues and gas powered items being used in the garage
Cigarettes in enclosed areas

Reduce the Risk of CO in Your Home

The Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, Canada’s national housing agency since 1946, suggests ways to reduce the risk of CO in your home:

Have a qualified technician inspect and clean fuel-burning appliances yearly, before the cold weather sets in, to ensure they are in good working order.
Have a qualified technician inspect chimneys and vents yearly for cracks, blockages (e.g., bird's nests, twigs, old mortar), corrosion or holes.
Check fireplaces for closed or blocked flues.
Check with a qualified technician before enclosing heating and hot water equipment in a smaller room, to ensure there is adequate air for proper combustion.
If you have a powerful kitchen exhaust fan or downdraft cooktop, have a qualified technician check that its operation does not pull fumes back down the chimney.
Never use propane or natural gas stove tops or ovens to heat your home.
Never start a vehicle in a closed garage; open the garage doors first. Pull the car out immediately onto the driveway, then close the garage door to prevent exhaust fumes from being drawn into the house.
Do not use a remote automobile starter when the car is in the garage; even if the garage doors are open.
Never operate propane, natural gas, or charcoal barbecue grills indoors or in an attached garage.
Avoid the use of a kerosene space heater indoors or in a garage. If its use is unavoidable, provide combustion air by opening a window while operating. Refuel outside after the unit has cooled.
Never run a lawnmower, snowblower, or any gasoline-powered tool such as a whipper-snipper or pressure washer inside a garage or house.
The use of fossil fuels for refrigeration, cooking, heat, and light inside tents, trailers, and motorhomes can be very dangerous. Be sure that all equipment is properly vented to the outside and use electric or battery-powered equipment where possible.
Regularly clean the clothes dryer ductwork and outside vent cover for blockages such as lint, snow, or overgrown outdoor plants.
Reduce or eliminate the use of fondue heaters indoors.
If you live close to a road with heavy traffic, outdoor carbon monoxide levels can affect your indoor air quality, especially during rush hour. Such levels should not set off a CO alarm, but slightly elevated CO levels might be observable on some types of CO detectors with a digital display.

Carbon Monoxide Awareness

OPP Constable Laurie Hawkins and her immediate family all died of CO poisoning. Laurie’s uncle, ex-firefighter John Gignac, started a foundation in memory of his family members in an effort to increase CO education and to raise money to provide CO detectors for needy Canadians. The Hawkins-Gignac Foundation for CO Education is hoping to “end the silence on the silent killer.”

As Gignac points out on his website (from a national Home Safety Poll):

60% of Canadians do not have a CO alarm
15% believe CO alarms last forever
18% believe CO alarms are only needed if you have a gas furnace
44% do not have their heating or other combustion systems checked annually
26% do not think they have to replace CO alarms every 5-7 years

Why don’t more people have a CO alarm when they are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and save lives? Gignac shares his thoughts, “There are a lot of misconceptions about carbon monoxide safety and that is putting people at serious risk. The big one is that people think if they have an electric stove they don’t need a CO detector. But they forget they have a gas water heater or gas furnace. Or they have a fireplace. Any appliance that burns gas or a fossil fuel, such as firewood, creates carbon monoxide. If a vent is cracked or there is a problem with the appliance, deadly CO can seep back into your home. So the problem is awareness and education…things at the heart of my Foundation. We are trying to convince every person to install at least one CO detector in their home!”

When the Alarm Goes Off

If your CO alarm goes off, take it seriously even if you feel well. Get everyone out of the house. If you know where the CO is coming from, turn off the source, air out the house, and reset the alarm. If anyone feels ill at any time, call 911 from a neighbour’s house. If you don’t know where the CO is coming from, call the utility company or the fire department once you have evacuated everyone.

If it’s not possible for you to leave the building, open doors and windows to let in as much fresh air as possible and immediately call for help.

Carbon Monoxide First Aid

Immediately move anyone with suspected CO poisoning into fresh air. If possible, get some oxygen into their lungs as breathing fresh air slowly will reduce the level of CO in someone’s system. Get the person to a doctor or call 911.

John Gignac sums up carbon monoxide poisonings and deaths, “We all need to end the silence on this silent killer. Families need to take heed of the dangers of CO and realize that there is only one way to protect themselves, and that is with a CSA-approved carbon monoxide detector. Humans can’t see, smell, or taste carbon monoxide. And exposure to it creates symptoms similar to the flu. So every home needs one.”