CARBON MONOXIDE

• Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas which may be present in flue gases.

• In situations where flue/exhaust gases are not properly venting, occupants of a building may be exposed to dangerous levels.

• Even when CO laden flue gases do safely exhaust the building, they add to the already polluted atmosphere and increase the possibility of low level continuous exposure to the general population.

• In Los Angeles, for example, a 10 ppm increase in the ambient CO levels has been shown to cause a 40% increase in hospital admissions due to heart problems.

• PPM= parts per million

• Carbon monoxide is measured in parts per million (ppm); the number of CO molecules present in a million molecules of sampled air.

• The UL (2034) listing requirements for home alarms are based upon concentrations measured in ppm and time of exposure to CO.

• Carbon Monoxide must be present in specific concentrations for specific times before they will cause a detector alarm.

• A number of carbon monoxide test instruments measure CO in ppm in real time unlike CO detectors.

• The concentration that exists moment by moment in the ambient air or in combustion product samples or in the breath (as an indicator of CO poisoning) is measured as they are drawn past the sensor.

• While fossil fuel fired heating systems are most commonly associated as potential sources of CO, a substantial number of poisonings occur due to the operation of gasoline or diesel engines.

• Two circumstances must exist to make carbon monoxide a hazard:

• 1 Carbon monoxide is produced in sufficient quantities

• 2 An open path exists for CO to accumulate near people

• Other combustion by-products (Oxides of nitrogen, aldehydes and excessive carbon dioxide ) can contribute to poor health symptoms even when CO is not produced.

• Aldehydes are a by-product of incomplete combustion and come with a pungent odor. Although CO is odorless, the aldehyde smell is distinct and carbon monoxide may be present when that odor is detected.

• Carbon monoxide is a result of incompletely burned fuel and is slightly lighter than air. Though CO has a natural tendency to rise, it will follow an air stream movement within a building.

• CO inhaled into the lungs, bonds tightly with hemoglobin in blood forming Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), replacing oxygen, and reducing the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood. This condition affects all major organs and muscles. CO may also poison by binding to tissues and cells of the human body and interfering with their normal function.

• Recognizing early warning signs of CO poisoning are sometimes difficult because early symptoms of CO exposure (headache, dizziness, and nausea) are nonspecific and may be mistaken for symptoms of other illnesses such as colds, flu, or food poisoning. Additionally confusion and weakness can inhibit a persons ability to escape the hazardous environment.

• Carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common type of fatal poisoning in France and the United States. It has been estimated that more than 40,000 people per year seek medical attention for carbon monoxide poisoning in the United States. In many industrialized countries, carbon monoxide may be the cause of greater than 50% of fatal poisonings. In the U.S., about 200 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment. The CDC reports, "Each year, more than 500 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning, and more than 2,000 commit suicide by intentionally poisoning themselves”.

Carbon monoxide poisoning and “Haunted Houses"

• Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include listlessness, depression, dementia, emotional disturbances, and hallucinations. Many of the phenomena generally associated with Haunted Houses, including strange visions and sounds, feelings of dread, illness, and the sudden, apparently inexplicable death of all the occupants, can be readily attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning.

• In one famous case, carbon monoxide poisoning was clearly identified as the cause of an alleged haunting. According to one study, "Mr. and Mrs. H." moved into a new home, but soon began to complain of headaches and fatigue. They began to hear bells and footsteps during the night, accompanied by strange physical sensations and sightings of mysterious figures. When they began to investigate the symptoms, they discovered the previous residents of the house had similar experiences. An examination of their furnace found it to be severely damaged, resulting in incomplete combustion and forcing most of the fumes (including carbon monoxide) into the house rather than up the chimney.

• A report published in 2005 described a 23-year old female victim of carbon monoxide poisoning, found delirious and hyperventilating, who saw a "ghost" while in the shower. A new gas water heater had just been installed in her home, apparently improperly, which flooded the house with carbon monoxide when the victim closed all the exterior windows and doors and took a shower.

• Current Carbon Monoxide Standards:• ASHRAE (62-89)• (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Engineers). ASHRAE states the ventilation air shall meet the EPA’s outdoor air standard as a goal - 9ppm

• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Recommends this level or lower as an ambient air quality goal averaged over eight (8) hours - 9ppm

• EPA - This level or lower as an ambient air quality goal averaged over one (1) hour to be exceeded no more than once per year - 35ppm

• OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) The allowable concentration for a worker’s continuous exposure in any eight (8) hour period - 5Oppm

• OSHA The maximum allowable concentration for a worker’s continuous exposure in any 15 minute period - 200ppm

• OSHA The maximum allowable concentration for any worker exposure - 400ppm

• UL#2034 (Underwriters Laboratories, October 1995) Carbon monoxide alarms must sound if this concentration is present for 90 minutes maximum - 100ppm

• ANSI Z21 (American National Standards Institute) Maximum ppm allowed from an unvented space heater measured on an air free basis - 200ppm

• UL#2034 (10/95) Carbon monoxide alarms must sound if this concentration is present for 35 minutes maximum - 200ppm

• ANSI Z21 Maximum ppm allowable in a boiler or forced air unit when measured on an air free basis - 400ppm

• UL#2034 (10/95) Carbon monoxide alarms must sound if concentration is present for 15 minutes maximum - 400ppm

• ANSI Z21 Maximum ppm allowed in a gas oven when measured on an air free basis - 800ppm

• Check to see that you are working with the most up-to-date standards.

• The percentage of COHb in your blood is what causes the symptoms and the higher the %, the more severe the symptoms will be.

• CO Detectors are designed to alarm when the CO level equals a 10% COHb in the blood.

• Smokers may record a variance of COHb {carboxyhemoglobin} percentages. This range usually is within the 2% to 6% range. However, the amount of measured COHb depends upon how soon after a cigarette the sample is taken and how many cigarettes are smoked.

• Higher measurements may occur if a test is taken within the first ten minutes after a cigarette as opposed to one hour or more. The amount of cigarettes per day and smoke actually inhaled also has an effect on this measurement. (A smoker once surveyed found his breath CO yielding a COHb of around 12%.)

• People living in urban areas where auto exhaust is high and background CO measurements regularly record above 9ppm may also have breath samples to around 2%. The human body produces some CO naturally; about 11/2 to 1% is a normal reading for a non-smoker who lives in fresh air. If the average person breathes in 100 ppm for about 90 minutes, the blood registers a COHb level of 10%. At 200ppm, it takes about 35 minutes to reach the 10% level.

• CO ALARMS GO OFF WHEN CO IS PRESENT.

• CO DETECTORS ARE CUMULATIVE : THEY GO OFF AFTER THEY HAVE ACCUMULATED ENOUGH CO.

• THEY HAVE A LIFE SPAN OF @ 7 YEARS

• BEAR IN MIND THAT IF YOU ARE IN A CITY WITH OUTDOOR AIR AT 25PPM CO, YOU HAVE TO ADD THAT TO THE BUILDINGS READING AND IT MAY GIVE YOU A FALSE ALARM

• THE ACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF CO EXHAUSTING OUT OF OUR EQUIPMENT IS 200 PPM OR LESS

• COMPLETE BURNING OF CARBON IN FUEL PRODUCES CO2, CARBON DIOXIDE

• INCOMPLETE BURN = CO

• HOW THE CO PROBLEM CAME TO LIGHT

• OTHER WAYS CO GETS INTO A HOME