Common causes of carbon monoxide poisoning include:

Furnaces/HVAC Units
Space Heaters
Hotels/Resorts
Boating
Aviation/Airplanes
Air Crashes
Warehouse Workers
Propane Devices
Generators

PREVENTION: While no prevention technique is foolproof, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors can make a difference in your home. But as with all prevention devices, if such devices are not properly maintained - the batteries kept fresh, or disconnected - they won’t make a difference.

One of the most serious situations for accidental carbon monoxide poisoning is in space heaters in rental apartments or in hotel rooms. Space heaters are not just something found in older apartments. Stand alone heating units also include on the wall heating systems (typically without thermostats) that you find in a high percentage of hotel rooms.

When you stay in a hotel room with an older type system it is a good policy to check to see if there is a carbon monoxide detector in the room. One recommendation is to travel with a portable carbon monoxide detector, as only a few states have a law requiring CO detectors in hotels, and none in all rooms. Hotels

WARNING: Older ski resorts have some of the worst safety records, so be particularly cautious there.

NOTE:

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CARBON MONOXIDE RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

Carbon Monoxide May Cause Long-Lasting Heart Damage: Article

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Causes Cardiotoxicity: Article

Carbon Monoxide in Your House?: Article

Storm Season Stirs Fears Abut Carbon Monoxide: Article

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Sends Four Suitland Residents to Hospital: Article

Nine Hospitalized Over Carbon Monoxide Concerns: Article

Mine Deaths Caused by Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Article

Carpet Cleaners Found Dead at Work: Article

Construction Site Evacuated Due to Possible Carbon Monoxide Scare: Article

Family Has Close Call With Carbon Monoxide: Article

One Killed, One Injured in Carbon Monoxide Poisoning: Article

Carbon Monoxide History Database: Database of Articles

Sources of and Clues to a Possible Carbon Monoxide (CO) Problem: Diagram

Consumer Product Safety Commission: Carbon Monoxide Questions and Answers: CPSC Document #466: Document

American Lung Association: Carbon Monoxide: Education

Information about Carbon Monoxide: Education

Carbon Monoxide Frequently Asked Questions: Education

SAFETY TIPS:

• Generators and barbecues stay outside. They produce carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that can kill you.
• Consider getting your fireplace and furnace serviced annually. A little money upfront could prevent a house fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Think about buying a carbon monoxide detector -- the gas doesn't set off smoke alarms.
• The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that every home be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide alarm near the sleeping area of the home. (Because victims of CO poisoning will slip deeper into unconsciousness as their CO condition worsens, a loud alarm is necessary to wake them). For maximum protection, place one carbon monoxide alarm on every level of your home.
• In homes heated by a boiler system (radiators rather than vents), consumers should consider placing a CO alarm near the furnace room, but about 5 feet away from the furnace itself. Locating a CO alarm directly beside a furnace would be the equivalent of locating a smoke alarm directly above an oven range. Under normal conditions, a furnace will emit very low levels of CO which will quickly dissipate and thus are not dangerous. However a malfunctioning furnace may generate a very high level of CO which a nearby CO alarm will alert you to.

NEXT: CARBON MONOXIDE - SOURCES AND CLUES

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What should I do if I suspect CO in my home?

• Leave your home immediately.
• Call 911 or Poison Control from your cellphone or from a neighbor's house after you have left your house. Seek medical attention.
  
• Call the local fire department to test for CO, or
  call your fuel supplier or licensed
  heating contractor for an
  emergency inspection.

Carbon Monoxide is referred to as CO, because that is the chemical symbol of the molecule, being one atom short of the less deadly, and natural element of the combustion cycle, carbon dioxide, CO2. CO occurs as the result of incomplete combustion, where instead of the normal combustion process, where the fuel containing the carbon atom, combines with two oxygen atoms, only one oxygen atom attaches to the carbon atom, hence CO. The existence of this toxic molecule in the bloodstream, causes potentially catastrophic consequences to the human body, including rapid death.

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