Carbon Monoxide: A Colder Months' Health Threat:

The air we breathe may harbor silent killers, but none can bring death more swiftly than carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a toxic pollutant with national and state outdoor air quality standards, but it’s inside the home, RV, or boat, that CO is the most dangerous, treacherous, and deceiving. In this video we’ll show you where you are most vulnerable to CO poisoning and how you can protect yourself and your family.

Carbon monoxide is generated when any kind of fuel burns. Everyone knows cars and trucks make some CO, but so do gas stoves, heaters, and furnaces because they burn fuel indoors. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. When inhaled it starves the body of life giving oxygen. High levels of CO can cause mental confusion, comas, brain damage, or death. On average 35 people die in California each year from accidental CO poisoning, while the national statistic is 450 deaths every year. Thousands more experience the debilitating flu like symptoms from breathing CO—headache, nausea, and fatigue. Young children, pregnant women, and people with heart disease are the most vulnerable.

More than half of the CO poisoning deaths are caused by malfunctioning or improperly vented combustion devices used inside buildings, such as gas or propane ranges, and heaters. The California Air Resources Board recommends several key steps to prevent indoor carbon monoxide poisoning. Never use portable kerosene or propane space heaters, charcoal grills or barbeques, or unvented gas logs indoors. Not only is it very unwise, it is illegal to do so in California. Opening a window or door is not enough to prevent poisoning. Never use a gas oven or stove to heat your home, even for just a few minutes. CO and other gasses can build up quickly. When you cook, be sure to turn on the range hood above the stove or oven. Have your gas furnace or water heater inspected to make sure the flu gasses are still properly vented to the outdoors and not coming into your home. Furnaces need routine maintenance and can develop problems over the years. You can check the vent pipe at the top of the furnace or water heater yourself for any signs of soot or corrosion, which can indicate a potential problem. An annual check up by a qualified technician is strongly recommended. Contact your local utility or certified heating contractor and request a combustion appliance safety test that includes measurement of CO. Some utility companies will inspect home equipment for little or no charge.

Get a UL approved CO detector that will sound an alarm if indoor CO levels become dangerous. Some models have digital readouts that indicate less dangerous levels giving you advance warning of a developing problem. Prices start at about $25. A smoke alarm is not the same device and won’t measure deadly CO gas, but some models will detect both smoke and CO in the same detector. Be sure to read the label.

Properly use and maintain combustion appliances in boats and recreational vehicles, install a CO alarm that is specifically approved for use in these spaces. Do not operate cars or small engines inside the garage. One third of all CO deaths come from motor vehicles running inside a closed garage. If you have to use an emergency generator make sure it runs outdoors, well away from windows and doors, and never inside the garage. 

You can learn more about carbon monoxide safety by going to arb.ca.gov/research/indoor/combustion.htm. There you’ll find the California Air Resources Boards indoor combustion pollutants guideline. For more information on carbon monoxide hazards or CO alarms call or write the Air Resources Board. Thank you for watching.