Thursday, December 22, 2016

CO News December 22, 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.


“Virtue is the truest nobility.” Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616, bio link)

"Minstrel's Song" Moody Blues - music link

Daily News Links Are Below These Opening Questions And Warnings
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. 

The most recommended CO Alarm in U.S. is a high level alarm
Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms 
UL 2034
1.3 Carbon monoxide alarms covered by this standard are not intended to alarm when exposed to long-term, low-level carbon monoxide exposures or slightly higher short-term transient carbon monoxide exposures, possibly caused by air pollution and/or properly installed/maintained fuel-fired appliances and fireplaces… 


Featured News Links – More news links below

Employees transported to hospital after carbon monoxide incident at Lebanon company
WXIX video
LEBANON, OH (FOX19) - Employees from Pax Corrugated Products were taken to the hospital after a carbon monoxide scare at their company in Lebanon…

Carbon monoxide alarm alerts Huntsville resident to dangerous levels of the silent killer
Huntsville Forester
HUNTSVILLE — The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department responded to a carbon monoxide alarm activation on Madeline Street yesterday morning shortly before 10 a.m… Upon arrival, fire crews from Huntsville Station One encountered readings of over 200 parts per million in the home…

Carbon monoxide from gasoline-powered saw prompts evacuation of Allen Street strip mall ...
MassLive.com
… carbon monoxide -- several hundred parts-per-million -- and not natural gas… "Someone was running a gasoline-powered saw inside the building in the back," Leger said… A number of businesses and operations were evacuated, including Open Arms Child Care Center and Thom Springfield Toddler Infant Services. Some 50 to 60 people were evacuated in all…

Four Treated For Carbon Monoxide Exposure
Wkdz
… When they arrived, firefighters did not find anyone trapped, but did detect above normal carbon monoxide levels inside the home…

Monoxide deaths spur Acushnet residents into action
SouthCoastToday.com
ACUSHNET — Two weeks after the deaths of Joseph Lopes, 41, and his 9-year-old son, Collin, by carbon monoxide poisoning, Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher's face seems to go cloudy as he thinks of Collin's classmates at the Acushnet Elementary School… "This is weighing heavy on them," Gallagher said solemnly… He knows because he has been visiting Collin's classmates in the fourth grade…

Update
Error trying to clear ice from ventilation led to death of western Minnesota resident
Minneapolis Star Tribune
… “It was determined that the exhaust vent for the building’s propane heating system has become plugged with ice,” the Sheriff’s Office statement read, “and in trying to fix the problem, [Thomas] Elkin had removed a safety feature from the heating system, causing the system to vent exhaust directly into the building.”…

Carbon Monoxide a serious problem this year
The Logan Banner
“We have had more calls about carbon monoxide build-ups in the past two months than we had in the past two years,” Chief Beckett said, noting that with the winter coming up and more calls about structure fires, carbon monoxide poisoning is a problem that people cannot afford to overlook…

New Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors for EMS Workers
SaultOnline.com
To increase the safety of our responding paramedics, Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services – Emergency Medical Service Division has equipped every paramedic crew with CO detectors to warn them of exposure to this toxic gas. Within the first week of being in operation, we had a CO detector sound an alarm. Paramedics arrived on the scene in response to a medical emergency. When entering the premise, the carbon monoxide detector attached to their heart monitor sounded, alerting them of the unsafe environment. They quickly removed the patient from the contaminated area and continued their treatment where it was safe to do so…

CO detectors have a shelf life, probably shorter than you think
Valley News Live
… And many of us are probably in the same boat. We set it, forget about it and move on, expecting it to work when our lives depend on it. So we asked Moorhead Fire Department: do many people realize these things have a shelf life?...

Malfunctioning heater trips Carbon Monoxide alarm in Nashua
NH1 News
A malfunctioning heating unit in a utility closet was declared the source of the Carbon Monoxide…

No diesel generators please, Sharjah residents told
Khaleej Times
"This practice is very dangerous for the safety of residents, as the generators produce toxic carbon monoxide gas which causes suffocation and death…

Scroll Down For More of Today's CO & Air Quality News Links

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… 

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips
National Fire Protection Association… If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel….

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

WATCH: This robot captured rare footage beneath the Antarctic sea ice
Business Insider Australia
A quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean which increases its acidity… Antarctica may be one of the first places where the detrimental effects of ocean acidification are measured…

Bacteria, Methane, and Other Dangers Within Siberia's Melting Permafrost
WIRED
FOR HUNDREDS OF thousands of years, the Siberian permafrost has been a giant freezer for everything buried within it. But global warming has put the frozen ground in defrost mode, and the tundra is now heating up twice as fast as the rest of the planet. “Permafrost is a silent ticking time bomb,” says Robert Spencer, an environmental scientist at Florida State University. As it thaws, the dirt could release a litany of horrors. Beware: The ice-beasts cometh…

Five reasons to be optimistic about climate change
High Country News
We will solve the challenge of climate change in our lifetimes. It’s a daring assertion, especially given President-elect Donald Trump’s stated and contradictory positions on climate change and environmental protections. But the transformation toward a zero-carbon economy is already happening on the state and local level…

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…

To all parents everywhere; grief's pain alerts others
Out of tragedy comes the light of love 
Chester County Press 
Inside, Carly and Daulton had passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning. The gas tank was empty and the ignition was still on. Fumes from the exhaust had been drawn into the car through the air vents… “One of the best things for me is to talk to parents who have also lost a child,” Donna said.

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 

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