Carbon Monoxide poisoning and your home - What you need to know

This is a topic I really never gave too much thought to until I had a houseguest last week who told me she almost died from it.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas. You cannot see, taste or smell carbon monoxide which makes it almost impossible to detect. For this reason every home should have a carbon monoxide detector. When inhaled, carbon monoxide enters the lungs and bloodstream where it eventually replaces your body's oxygen, resulting in suffocation. Exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can cause death within minutes. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headache, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, weakness and shortness of breath.

Should your carbon monoxide detector go off, or you suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, get outside into fresh air immediately. If you cannot get outside be sure to open as many doors and windows as possible. Then go to the hospital emergency room or call 911 for medical attention. Carbon monoxide can be produced by both wood and gas fireplaces and can be caused by blocked chimneys, leaking chimney flues, cracked heat exchangers or improper venting.

On average, about 170 people in the United States die every year from CO produced by non-automotive consumer products. These products include malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances such as furnaces, ranges, water heaters and room heaters; engine-powered equipment such as portable generators; fireplaces; and charcoal that is burned in homes and other enclosed areas.

In 2005 alone, CPSC staff is aware of at least 94 generator-related CO poisoning deaths. Forty-seven of these deaths were known to have occurred during power outages due to severe weather, including Hurricane Katrina. Still others die from CO produced by non-consumer products, such as cars left running in attached garages.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that several thousand people go to hospital emergency rooms every year to be treated for CO poisoning. With power outages being so common here on the Monterey Peninsula, this should be a concern for all. PGE will come out for free and check your house so give them a call.

(KRXA 540AM Radio Show, April 16, 2010)