You can't see it, smell it, or taste it. Yet there's at least a chance it's in your home if you have a furnace, a fireplace, a water heater, a generator or anything else that burns fossil fuels.
After the December 2006 windstorm raged across the region, more than 300 people were sickened, and eight were killed by carbon monoxide as families without electricity turned to alternate sources of heat and power. During the recent floods, 20 adults and a 9-year-old boy became ill after inhaling carbon monoxide in an Ocean Shores grocery store powered by a generator. Less than two weeks earlier, three children died in a rural home in Grant County where a gasoline generator was running. Gov. Christine Gregoire has called the Ocean Shores incident “a reminder of the consequences of carbon monoxide” and urged families using gasoline-powered generators to also get sensors that detect carbon monoxide, which is colorless and odorless, but lethal.
At low levels carbon monoxide’s symptoms are minor but can quickly sneak on victims and be deadly. Carbon Monoxide Levels and the impact on a person:
200 PPM Slight headache within 2 - 3 hours
400 PPM Frontal headache within 1 - 2 hours
800 PPM Dizziness, nausea and convulsions within 45 minutes. Insensible within 2 hours
1600 PPM Headache, dizziness and nausea within 20 minutes. Death within 30 minutes
3200 PPM Headache, dizziness and nausea within 5 - 10 minutes. Death within 30 minutes
6400 PPM Headache, dizziness and nausea within 1 - 2 minutes. Death within 15 minutes
12800 PPM Death in less than 3 minutes
Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur several ways: when flues or chimneys become blocked; when a furnace has a cracked or rusted heat exchanger; when fuel-burning space heaters, ovens, ranges or grills are operated in the home without adequate ventilation; when generators are run near a door or window, when car exhaust from an attached garage enters the home and when there's a negative pressure balance between the inside and outside of the home, preventing adequate venting of combustion gases.
Your best defense against this killer is to install one or more carbon monoxide detectors. The latest CO alarms can detect this deadly gas before it reaches the danger level. "According to UL Standard 2034, home carbon monoxide detectors must sound a warning before carbon monoxide levels reach 100 parts per million over 90 minutes, 200 parts per million over 35 minutes or 400 parts per million over 15 minutes. The standard requires the alarm must sound before an average; healthy adult begins to experience symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. The warning provides time to evacuate the premises." CO detectors come in many styles and range in price from under $20 to over $75. Generally the cheaper models only sound the alarm while the more expensive models will sound an alarm and display the CO level.
But what do you do and who to you call when your carbon monoxide detector goes into alarm? If the alarm goes off, turn off appliances, or other sources of combustion at once. Immediately get fresh air into the premises by opening doors and windows. Call 911, most fire department carry sensitive detection equipment that can help identify the source. If anyone is a experiencing symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, dizziness, vomiting, call for medical assistance and immediately move the victim to a location that has fresh air.
Rick Bunzel is a member of the North Puget Sound Board of REALTORS. He has 25 years experience as a firefighter in New Jersey, California, Colorado and Washington. He owns Pacific Crest Inspections, a home inspection company in Anacortes, Washington. He can be reached at 360-588-6956 or Rick@paccrestinspections.com. More home safety information can be found at www.paccrestinspections.com
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