“As adults, we do know more, but we don't know enough. People can be very unthinkingly callous.” Dennis Potter (1935-1994, info link)
Is your heating contractor certified, educated and licensed for their trade?
What a customer expects and what they get from their boiler engineer or heating technician may be entirely different from the quality and safety they actually get. It has been known that most consumers do not know much about the mechanics of their furnace, water heater, or any other household appliance including their cooling air conditioner.
Precisely stated then, the customer must trust the company and the technician they have chosen to install, service or troubleshoot the brand of the specified system. This applies to residential as well as commercial customers. The company and all of their employees must keep up with changes in technologies, requirements for testing & verifications, educational opportunities and expanded professional affiliations for growth and support of the business. This also means continuing education for their trade and profession.
Regarding combustion appliances, the company technician at minimum should acquire credentialed and continuous education regarding the equipment they will be charged with; this includes having the instrumentation to conduct the measureable tests required to verify the safe and efficient operation of combustion systems described as Category I, Category II, Category III, or Category IV that utilizes natural gas, propane, fuel oil or other combustible fuels. Companies that resist certification and permits are not saving their customers money. They generally end up costing them more, sometimes their lives.
In addition to knowing the performance mechanics of the combustion systems they are working on, these technicians must understand building pressure dynamics and how to measure these pressures, as they can influence the safe and efficient operation of the system. We do not want the building make our equipment underperform the expectations by generating, through construction or mechanical means, opposing pressures that restrict combustion air or exhaust gas performance. If you do not understand this discussion, get busy and start learning about it. Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety
CO News links
Hyperbaric chamber busy; read on----
Carbon monoxide poisoning from generators sickened dozens after Isaac
KVUE
Since Hurricane Isaac, two dozen people have suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning from gas or gasoline powered generators. "Running gas-powered generators to replace the power outage in their homes and just putting them in poorly ventilated areas ...
Warning after dangerous gas appliances are found in homes
Derby Telegraph
In the last year, there have been more than 50 deaths as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, with 16 of those attributable to faulty gas appliances. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse ...
UPDATED POSTING: Heed the warning!
When cutting corners on costs can prove to be fatal
Burton Mail
Of these, 29 per cent (21 appliances) were deemed immediately dangerous, posing a risk of leaking carbon monoxide (CO). As 12 per cent of UK homeowners revealed they would willingly use an unregistered gas engineer or friend in order to save money, ...
Pollution impacts
The view from below
FM.co.za
Pollution of underground and surface water has an impact on communities and deprives subsistence farmers and agricultural users of water. Cattle and grazing land are affected, depriving communities of an income. Air quality deteriorates and results in ...
Pollutionwatch: London Games least polluted Olympics in recent times
The Guardian
Favourable weather and good planning avoided major air pollution problems during the Olympics, prompting the University of Manchester to suggest that the London Games may have been the least polluted Olympics in recent times. Good news, but the ...
Guarding air quality at a national park
Yellowstone National Park wants more input on winter-use plan
Summit County Citizens Voice
Winter travel via snowmobiles and snow coaches has been hotly disputed, as local business owners advocate for more access, while the park service and conservation advocates focus on trying to reduce impacts to wildlife and air quality. For now ...
Did you know…
Ontario Ministry of the Environment
The Canadian Medical Association estimates air pollution costs Ontario more than $220 million in health care costs and contributes to the deaths of 1,200 Ontarians each year. Learn about the illness cost of air pollution
· Heart Rescue Now This link takes you to a very short video that is a practical demonstration on the proper usage of an AED. This video is tastefully done & demonstrates the step-by-step way one might be able to save a life.
· Please take CARBON MONOXIDE SAFETY CARE during all holiday and everyday activities.
· Carbon Monoxide Survivor A website made by poisoning survivors that brings a view that can only come from those that know what it is like to have been poisoned - as well as live with the long term impact.
· Consider low level protection for carbon monoxide and smoldering fire detection problems; don't leave anyone behind.
National Conference of State Legislatures
Carbon Monoxide Detectors State Statutes
Twenty-five U.S. states have statutes that require carbon monoxide detectors in certain residential buildings. Updated Nov. 2011
Alaska | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts| Michigan | Minnesota | Montana | New Jersey | New Hampshire | New York | North Carolina | Oregon | Rhode Island | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin | West Virginia
Google Maps to reference the locations referenced in these Internet headlines.
The following companies are acknowledged for their continued support of carbon monoxide safety education and this daily news blog. They may just have what you are looking for.
Fieldpiece Instruments
The Energy Conservatory
IntelliTec Colleges
CO Experts
Masimo (See the non-invasive RAD-57)
Mahugh Fire & Safety
ESCO Institute
TPI - Test Products International
Every Day is Carbon Monoxide Safety Day!
