Carbon Monoxide
If you put one carbon atom and one oxygen atom together, you get carbon monoxide (CO). Two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom gives you carbon dioxide. The latter is harmless; the former can be fatal.
Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas. It is a by-product of combustion. (It is actually a by-product of incomplete combustion, but combustion is rarely complete.)
When you inhale carbon monoxide, it gets absorbed into your body the same way that oxygen does. It replaces the oxygen on the hemoglobin in your blood which deprives your body of oxygen. The result is an increased heart rate as your heart tries to get more oxygen to your brain and other vital organs.
The symptoms of long term exposure to low concentrations are slight headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath with only moderate exertion. Continued exposure or high concentrations can result in severe headaches, breathing difficulties, dizziness, confusion, cardiac trauma, brain damage and ultimately, death.
The Canadian Safety Council reports that each year 200 Canadians are killed by carbon monoxide and 1500 others are exposed to levels high enough to warrant medical attention.
If you sense any of the above symptoms, move immediately to fresh air. Unconscious victims should be moved outdoors. Call for medical assistance and until it arrives, keep those exposed lying down and keep them warm by wrapping them in blankets. Rest is absolutely necessary. Those exposed should not be allowed to walk for several hours after regaining consciousness. If breathing has ceased, artificial respiration should be undertaken immediately.
To help reduce the risk of exposure to carbon monoxide, fuel burning appliances should be inspected annually by a qualified technician. Gas burning equipment which is out of adjustment often has a flickering yellow flame as opposed to a steady blue flame. If you see this, call a qualified service person.
One of the major causes of carbon monoxide build up in the home is poor draft from fuel burning appliances. This means that the products of combustion are not being safely carried outside. Instead, they are backing up into the house.
A simple test is to hold a burning match to the edge of the draft hood on a water heater or a conventional furnace. This will give an indication of draft. It is common for some products of combustion to leak out into the basement when a piece of equipment starts, however after it has been running for a minute, good draft should be established and a lit match will be drawn into the exhaust if the draft is good. A flame being blown downwards or out into the room indicates a dangerously bad draft.
When products of combustion cannot escape properly from the house, there tends to be a build up of moisture within the exhaust flue and ultimately within the house. Look for rusting on flue pipes and water leaking from the base of the chimney. Look for moisture condensing on windows and in extreme cases, on walls near the furnace.
In addition to having your fuel burning appliances inspected once a year, carbon monoxide detectors can be installed on or near the ceiling in each room where there is a fuel burning appliance. CO detectors can be installed near sleeping areas. Much like smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors can be wired into the home's electrical system or they can be battery operated. Also, like smoke detectors, battery operated units should be tested weekly while hard wired systems should be tested monthly.
If a CO detector does go off, immediately open doors and windows to ventilate the house. Call the fire department and evacuate everyone from the house. Remember that because carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless, never ignore an alarm even if you feel no adverse symptoms.
Randy Yetman,
FRI, MVA
