NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

September 30, 1999

Note to Editors: October is National Home Indoor Air Quality Action Month

Despite a High Profile, Carbon Monoxide Is Still a Killer

Carbon monoxide has become a high-profile killer. Carbon monixide detectors are now common and deaths and near misses attributed to the gas receive top news coverage.

Despite this high profile, this silent killer remains a serious threat, according to a North Dakota State University safety specialist.

"Carbon monoxide poisoning produces symptoms that are easily blamed on something else," says George Maher of the NDSU Extension Service. "Anything that burns a fuel (produces carbon monoxide) -- gas or oil furnaces, gas or oil water heaters, fuel-burning space heaters, wood stoves, gas ranges, charcoal grills, gas grills, cars, trucks and small engines. Those things are present in every home and garage, so the threat is always there."

Carbon monoxide does its work by accumulating in the blood and displacing oxygen. As a result, vital organs become starved for oxygen and death soon results. A headache is often the first symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning and is a result of a lack of oxygen going to the brain. Bluish fingernails, another symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning, also are a result of oxygen-deprived blood. The blood of carbon monoxide poisoning victims has a bluish tint rather than the typical bright red color. The level of carbon monoxide can be determined by a doctor with a carboxyhemoglobin test.

Maher notes that carbon monoxide can affect you at very low levels, as little as 0.1 percent, causing chronic headaches, fatigue, dizzy spells and confusion. It affects everyone: senior citizens, youngsters, the unborn, and average people, too.

"If combustion gases are present in the air, carbon monoxide will be there too," Maher says. "But, carbon monoxide can be present without the presence of other gases of combustion. It is a by-product of the combustion of flammable fuels. If you have any appliances that burn a fuel, you really can't afford not to have a carbon monoxide detector -- it is essential to monitor the safety of your home."

Common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

• Furnaces with cracked or burned-through heat exchangers. A defective heat exchanger can allow combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, to enter your home. The gases are distributed throughout the house by your hot air vents. An annual furnace inspection performed by a qualified heating technician can reveal this problem before it becomes a threat.
• Homes with attached garages. These homes have been found to have much higher levels of carbon monoxide than homes with un-attached garages because of automobile engines running while parked in the attached garage. Even small engines such as those on snow blowers and lawn mowers should never be run in a garage with the doors closed. Always open the garage door before starting any engine in the garage, and keep the door open for a few minutes after stopping the engine.
• Charcoal and gas grills operated in attached garages. Never operate a grill in an attached garage even if the doors are open. Grill outdoors to minimize the levels of carbon monoxide in your home.
• Using a wood stove in an attached garage, either for heating or disposing of waste paper. Use only approved and properly installed heating systems to heat a garage attached to your home.

A smoke detector may not alert you to low levels of carbon monoxide in the air, Maher notes. But, a carbon monoxide detector will. If the warning signal sounds, get out of the house immediately. Call the fire department from the neighbors house or a cell phone, but do not enter the house until the firemen determine it is safe to do so.

"As with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors have to be maintained with care for them to be effective," Maher says. "Replace the battery when it is needed, and test on a regular, weekly basis. Know that it is operating the way it is supposed to, and then live and sleep a little more securely."

For more information about indoor air quality visit the NDSU Extension Service Indoor Air Quality site at http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/iaq.htm , the Environmental Protection Agency's web site: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ , or call the EPA Indoor Air Quality Info Line at (800) 438-4318.

October is national Home Indoor Air Quality Action and Awareness Month as part of the Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes Project, a cooperative effort of educators in each state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the EPA.

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Source: Ken Hellevang (701) 231-7243
Editor: Tom Jirik (701) 231-9629