September 26, 2002

Carbon Monoxide Is A Silent Killer

Carbon monoxide is a known silent killer. "Carbon monoxide poisoning produces symptoms that are easily blamed on something else," according to George Maher, North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural safety specialist. "Carbon monoxide reduces the bloods ability to carry oxygen. It causes headaches because there is a lack of oxygen in the blood going to the brain. Bluish fingernails are also a result of oxygen-deprived blood."

Carbon monoxide can affect you at very low levels, as little as one tenth of a percent, causing chronic headaches, fatigue, dizzy spells, and confusion, Maher says. "It can affect everyone including the unborn. The oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin in the blood is reduced by carbon monoxide, producing these symptoms. Carbon monoxide accumulates in the blood the longer you breath it in. The level of carbon monoxide can be determined by a doctor with a carboxyhemoglobin test."

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of flammable fuel combustion. Common producers of carbon monoxide are gas or oil furnaces, gas or oil water heaters, fuel burning space heaters, wood stoves, gas ranges, and charcoal and gas grills. "If you have appliances that burns a fuel, then you can’t afford not to have a carbon monoxide detector to monitor the safety of your home," Maher says.

"A furnace with a cracked or burned-through heat exchanger can produce all of the above mentioned symptoms. The end result can be fatal. If a heat exchanger is defective it can allow combustion gases, carbon monoxide for one, to enter your home from the burning fuel. The gases are distributed throughout the house by your hot air vents. It can be a deadly situation," he says.

Homes with attached garages have been found to have much higher levels of carbon monoxide than homes with un-attached garages. The higher gas levels are due to automobile engines running while parked in the attached garage. Carbon monoxide is produced by automobile engines, gasoline and diesel, in very dangerous quantities and is drawn into the house through doorways connecting the garage to the house. 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 and close the door a few minutes after stopping the engine.

"It is never safe to operate any kind of grill, charcoal or gas, in the attached garage of your home, even if the doors are open," Maher says. "Very dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are produced by the burning fuel. Always do the grill cooking outdoors to minimize the levels of carbon monoxide in your home."

Even using a wood stove in an attached garage, either for heating or disposing of waste paper, is a dangerous practice that can produce dangerous carbon monoxide levels. Only an approved and properly installed heating system should be used in a garage attached to your home.

"A smoke detector may not alert you to low levels of carbon monoxide in the air," Maher says. "A carbon monoxide detector will. That’s the difference. If the warning signal goes off, 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."

Proper maintenance is required regardless of which detector you buy. Replace the battery when needed and test it on a weekly basis. "You can live and sleep a little more securely when you know the detector is operating properly," Maher says.

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Source: George Maher, (701) 231-8288, gmaher@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu

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