Thursday, April 7, 2016

Carbon Monoxide News April 7, 2016 – posts updated frequently

Every day is a carbon monoxide safety education day.
Scroll back in time through our archives for previous CO News links.
We can learn from others mistakes and efforts to prevent poisoning.
Carbon monoxide safety, we are all in this together.


“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993, bio link)

"Dignity" Bob Dylan - music link

How much carbon monoxide are you in when in any motor vehicle?

Did you know that many people do not measure the air they live in?
After prevention there is no greater awareness than measurement.
Awareness leads to quick thinking. Measurement leads to quick action.

Are you in the know?
Do I know enough about carbon monoxide and carbon monoxide poisoning to justify never knowing how much is in the air I breathe every day, everywhere I go?”

There are some people who want to be notified of the presence of carbon monoxide at levels or concentrations as soon as the gas is present, at concentrations well below those that can instigate poor health symptoms but not be high enough levels to sound the CO alarm they own.

There are some people who do not want to push a button on their CO alarm to see what low, aggravating levels of the poison might be in their home, or anywhere.

Consider low level protection for carbon monoxide and smoldering fire detection problems; don't leave anyone behind. CO Experts

Featured News Links – More news links below
4 sent to hospital after carbon monoxide poisoning at Pete's Gourmet Confections
Mail Tribune
Medford - Medford Fire-Rescue Chief Brian Fish said levels of 35 parts per million will trigger an alarm on handheld readers used by rescue workers, but at the source of the leak inside the building, readings were above 500 parts per million… "That could really cause some neurological issues," Fish said. "They were having headaches."

2 die from carbon monoxide poisoning in Detroit
WXYZ
DETROIT (WXYZ) - An investigation was underway Thursday morning into two deaths linked to carbon monoxide poisoning…

Superior EMS Responds to CO Call
Net Newsledger
THUNDER BAY – Superior North Emergency Medical Services (SNEMS) Paramedics responded to a call for service in which the patient was experiencing confusion. On arrival, paramedics were warned of a potential cause of this confusion when the Carbon Monoxide detector attached to their oxygen bag began to alarm. Paramedics assessed, initiated treatment, and transported the patient to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre…

New Developments
Mother alleges carbon monoxide exposure at motel sickened children
Madison County Record
EDWARDSVILLE – On Jan. 30, both children and other family members were guests at a birthday party on the defendant's premises, the suit alleges. While there, the plaintiffs allegedly became nauseated, sick and unconscious due to high levels of carbon monoxide and other toxic gases, according to the complaint…

What we don’t know about workplace exposures may be harmful, deadly
CDC tests at coffee plant find high levels of dangerous chemical
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
NIOSH researchers also warn that the storage bins can contain high levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, gases that in high enough concentrations can lead to serious illness and death… Two bins tested in the Just Coffee plant exceeded the agency's ceiling limit of 200 parts per million for carbon monoxide… AND - Diacetyl has been tied to the deadly lung disease bronchiolitis obliterans, more commonly known as "popcorn lung" for its association with the many illnesses suffered by microwave popcorn workers in the early 2000s. The chemical's molecular cousin, 2,3-pentanedione, has shown equal toxicity in animal studies… Both chemicals have been made synthetically to give a buttery flavor to all kinds of foods and beverages and have been deemed safe to ingest in trace amounts…

Colorado
Carbon Monoxide: "The Silent Killer"
KKCO-TV
CLIFTON, Colo. -- Carbon Monoxide alarms could be beeping across the state, because in 2009 a Colorado House Bill 1091 was passed that required all homes to have a CO detector. The beeping from these detectors means the detector could be reaching the end of its 7 to 10 year life…

Colorado House Bill 1091
On March 25, 2009, Governor Bill Ritter signed into law Colorado House Bill 1091 requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in residential properties. This bill is called the Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Safety Act… This law requires homeowners and owners of rental property to install carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms (or other room lawfully used for sleeping purposes) in every home that is heated with fossil fuel, has a fuel-fired appliance, has a fireplace, or has an attached garage… This requirement applies to every home that is sold, remodeled, repaired, or leased to a new tenant after July 1, 2009… (click link above for full text)

CO Alarm Bill Heads to Iowa Governor
KCRG
Senate file 2219 passed 36-14, with bipartisan support… Here's how the bill would work. It calls for voluntary compliance for private homeowners. It's a different story for rental units. There, the alarms would be checked as part of regular inspections…

COSA – Keep SCBA’s on until CO and hydrogen cyanide are fully cleared. We can't afford to lose more heroes.
How CO kills firefighters
Fire Chief
To my surprise I noticed an SOP allowing for firefighters to remove their SCBA if the carbon monoxide level is less than 50 ppm in the sampling…

Princess Anne students walk to remember Todd family
Delmarva Daily Times
I wanted to walk so everybody can get a carbon monoxide alarm. I donated $5." The walkathon involved the entire school, where five of the seven children were students... a nine year old said they didn't know the Todd children but wanted to participate. "We are walking around to tell people to be aware of carbon monoxide," Reagan said, and held up a bottle of drinking water he was given at the 911 Center. The label listed pictures and warning signs of CO poisoning…

Homeowner safe after carbon monoxide scare on West Side
Madison.com
A West Side homeowner escaped injury early Wednesday after carbon monoxide levels caused by a faulty furnace set off the CO alarm in the residence…

Five Ways Clean Cooking Improves Health
Huffington Post
Across the developing world, people cook over open fires or using simple stoves that burn solid fuels like wood, animal dung, and coal. Cooking this way emits small particles, carbon monoxide, and other noxious fumes at levels up to 100 times higher than recommended health limits. As a result, the simple act of cooking kills more than 4 million people each year…

Please, stop diagnostic errors; start testing for carboxyhemoglobin
Carbon Monoxide Intoxication
Journal of Neurology and Neuroscience
Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication is one of the main causes of poisoning in industrialized countries and it often leads to diagnostic errors,… 

Carbon monoxide intoxication.
nih.gov
However individuals with ischemic heart disease may experience chest pain and decreased exercise duration at COHb levels between 1% and 9%. COHb levels between 30% and 70% lead to loss of consciousness and eventually death… 

NOTE: Listed U.L. 2034 & CSA 6.19 Carbon Monoxide Alarms 
VISUAL DISPLAY:
Must not display under 30PPM in normal operation
AT 70, 150 & 400 PPM display must be accurate within plus or minus 30 Percent 

SENSITIVITY TESTING: Resist alarming first times shown, must by second shown time
70PPM [PLUS OR MINUS 5PPM ... [BETWEEN 60 _ 240 MINUTES]
150PPM [PLUS OR MINUS 5PPM] ... [10 - 50 MINUTES]
400PPM [PLUS OR MINUS 10PPM ... [4 _ 15 MINUTES]

“CITIZENS WILL CONTINUE TO DIE & BECOME SERIOUSLY ILL DAILY!” George Kerr - CO Experts 
More news links below –

We have all been CO poisoned, some more than others
The following link takes you to a site with views from those who have been poisoned. The seriousness of carbon monoxide poisoning, the grief, suffering and disorientations experienced are clearly portrayed with the intent to help others and prevent future poisonings. With respect, please visit: 

What is in the air you are breathing right now?
What will you be doing today; walking into poison?
Who will be responsible for the air you breathe?
You may be the only person who can prevent your own poisoning. 

We are all vulnerable to carbon monoxide exposure and poisoning.
Everyone has been poisoned by CO and will be poisoned again. The degree of the poisoning depends upon allowing yourself to be in a situation where someone else controls the air you breathe and the mechanisms for alarming notification.

Please read the alarm information on the package and in the instructions that come with the carbon monoxide alarm. Know that if it is a U.L. 2034 Listed product (or CSA 6.19 Listed), it is a high level alarm that has been tested to alarm no sooner than 70 PPM at the lowest (the alarm must resist for one hour when above this level) and when over 400 PPM before 15 minutes at the highest concentration, after resisting alarming for 4 minutes when over this level.

Know when your fire department and emergency responders begin wearing their breathing apparatus and what their civilian evacuation levels are for carbon monoxide; it may be as soon as the gas is present in your presence. Pregnant women, infants & children, people with heart & respiratory struggles, those suffering depression or chronic headaches and all people of vulnerable health should be alerted as soon as the gas begins to concentrate, around 10 PPM (parts per million) or lower.

You most likely need a low level carbon monoxide detector to sound off when carbon monoxide hazards are just beginning, not after you’ve been exposed to levels that make you have headaches, flu-like symptoms, increased tiredness, heart stresses or worse.

Do not take risks with carbon monoxide. Take responsibility for the air you breathe and the combustion systems you are responsible for. If you don’t do it for yourself, do it for others, unless you think $45.00, high level protection is good enough.

Help prevent injuries and deaths; don’t guess about carbon monoxide. Measure carbon monoxide for safety and knowledge. The more you test the more you learn. 
GET BUSY
Measurement is continuing education at its best. Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety

CO and Air Quality News Links 

Physician Counsels Asthmatic Patients On Early Identification Triggers
Leadership Newspapers
He said that the signs of an asthma attack in asthmatic people included complaints of wheezing cough and breathing, difficulty in breathing and...

Hookah smokers: even light use causes lung abnormalities
Medical News Today
There is a common misconception that smoking tobacco from a hookah or waterpipe is somehow less harmful than cigarette smoking. Recent studies have proven hookah smoking carries many of the same health risks, and now, a new study provides evidence of lung function abnormalities among light-use hookah or waterpipe smokers…

Rep. Urban, Sen. Bartolomeo Champion Flame Retardants Ban
Patch.com
“Flame retardants offer the worst of two worlds: they don't work and they are carcinogenic as well as endocrine disrupters. We know that researchers are finding metabolites of these toxic chemicals in our children and it is high time we banned them,” said Rep. Urban. “Our children have the highest risk of exposure because they play on the ground where these toxins exist in house dust, are exposed in utero, and tend to put things in their mouths.”

Traffic Cops Choke at City Signals
The New Indian Express
BENGALURU: A traffic constable works at busy junctions, breathing in toxic vehicular fumes and dust, for eight to 12 hours a day. On an average, he or she works 350 days a year… While some constables count themselves lucky to have been deputed in localities with less pollution, those who are posted in the heart of the city face immense health risks…

How much carbon dioxide is produced per kilowatt hour when generating electricity with fossil fuels?
US Energy Information Administration
Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government... 

Sit and rest a while; miss the children, prevent repeating this tragedy. 
Corfu carbon monoxide deaths: Memorial unveiled in Horbury 
BBC News 
A memorial bench to two young children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Corfu has been unveiled in West Yorkshire…

How to use a Fire Extinguisher
VideoNex
In this informative and succinct video, learn how to identify and appropriately execute the use of a CO2 Fire Extinguisher…

Cdc Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
New Movie Release 2015
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Public domain video from CDC. Carbon monoxide (sometimes referred to as CO) is a colorless, odorless gas produced ... 

CO EXperts
Johnson County Kansas - Continuing Education – – Video Link


A well put together video is found with the next link, but remember U.L. 2034 Listed CO Alarms are high level alarms. Use them for protection against accute levels, but be aware you can still experience symptoms of the poisoning even though the devices are in place.
About Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
DailyMotion
About Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 

JEMS.com - ...site has been designed with this in mind – to create a visual, interactive, educational resource which can hopefully end incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning and save lives… For more information, please visit - www.thesilentkiller.co.uk 

Who is responsible for the air you breathe? 
Take control inside your homes. 
-Link to:  CO alarm standards  

The lowest U.L. 2034 & CSA 6.19 carbon monoxide alarm test point is: 
- 70 PPM to 149 PPM –resist one hour, must alarm before 4 hours 
Please read the alarm information on the package and in the instructions. Know when your fire department and emergency responders begin wearing their breathing apparatus and what their civilian evacuation levels are for carbon monoxide; it may be before 70 PPM. It is for pregnant women, infants & children, the elderly and all people of vulnerable health. Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety 


Consider low level protection for carbon monoxide and smoldering fire detection problems; don't leave anyone behind. CO Experts


These following links may be of some use to you: 
U.S. Drought Monitor
- Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
- Current Data for Atmospheric CO2
- Federal Aviation Administration CO warning
- Carbon monoxide toxicity-Emergency Medicine Ireland
- Carbon Monoxide Survivor- Views from those who have been poisoned.
- Carbon Monoxide detection- National Fire Protection Association

· Please take CARBON MONOXIDE SAFETY CARE during all holiday and everyday activities.

National Conference of State Legislatures 
Carbon Monoxide Detectors State Statutes 

Twenty-Nine U.S. states have statutes that require carbon monoxide detectors in certain residential buildings. Updated Nov. 2014
Alaska | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida |
Georgia | Illinois | Maine | Maryland | MassachusettsMichigan |
Minnesota | Montana | New Jersey | New Hampshire | New York | 
  
Red Cross - Disaster Relief to safely assist law enforcement, fire department, utility company, city, county and state authorities as repair and rebuilding moves forward. Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety

Nationally, the Red Cross provides food and shelter to people affected by as many as 70,000 fires annually, or about one fire every eight minutes.

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 

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