What should be done for someone who suffers from CO poisoning? Excess moisture on the interior of windows.Illness is present when gas appliances are in use.Flu-like symptoms decrease while away from the house.Entire family is sick at the same time.The EPA level of 9 ppm appears to be a reasonable limit in homes. Respiratory capacity decreases and the risk of heart attack increases at levels well below 50 ppm. Since 50 ppm is the Occupation Health and Safety limit, is it safe for all people? Physical exertion, with an accompanying increase in respiration rate, shortens the time to critical levels by 2 or 3 fold. In 3 to 5 hours the same concentration can lead to unconsciousness and death.
For instance, a concentration of 400 ppm will cause headaches in 1 to 2 hours. The time of exposure, the concentration of CO, the activity level of the person breathing the CO, and the person’s age, sex, and general health all affect the danger level. Some people require years to recover while others might never fully recover.
Continued exposure to carbon monoxide can cause permanent brain, nerve, or heart damage. Carbon monoxide detectors, which are designed to protect against high concentration of carbon monoxide are required to sound an alarm when concentrations are greater than 100 ppm. Occupational Health and Safety limit for healthy workers is 50 ppm. Exceeding the EPA concentration of 9 ppm for more than 8 hours is suspected to produce adverse health affects in persons at risk. At low concentrations it will require a longer period of time to affect the body. High concentrations of carbon monoxide kill in less than five minutes. Physical, non-reversible damage can occur. This makes even small amounts of carbon monoxide dangerous. The brain and heart require large amounts of oxygen and quickly suffer from any oxygen shortage. The attraction of CO and hemoglobin is approximately 250 times greater than the attraction between oxygen and hemoglobin. When CO is inhaled, it bonds with hemoglobin, displacing oxygen and forming carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) resulting in a lack of oxygen to the body cells. Because the symptoms mimic so many illnesses, it is often misdiagnosed.
Continued exposure can lead to vomiting, loss of consciousness, brain damage, heart irregularity, breathing difficulties, muscle weakness, abortions and even death. What are the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning?Ĭarbon monoxide symptoms mimic the flu: headaches, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, confusion, and irritability. Wood, coal, and charcoal fires always produce carbon monoxide, as do gasoline engines. Anything which disrupts the burning process or results in a shortage of oxygen can increase carbon monoxide production. In properly installed and maintained appliances gas burns clean and produces only small amounts of carbon monoxide. During incomplete combustion, the carbon and hydrogen combine to form carbon dioxide, water, heat, and deadly carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is slightly lighter than air and quickly spreads throughout an entire house.Ĭarbon monoxide gas is produced when fossil fuel burns incompletely because of insufficient oxygen. of Agricultural and Biosystems EngineeringĬarbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, deadly gas.
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