Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Carbon Monoxide News March 6, 2018, 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.

“He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” Confucius (551 BCE - 479 BCE, bio link)

"What Did You Learn In School Today?" Pete Seeger - 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 breathe.

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…

Bob Dwyer
Carbon Monoxide Safety Association

COSA provides Carbon Monoxide safety education and training.

World Wide Reports
Carbon Monoxide News Links –
More news links below

One Spaniard dead and another in coma after carbon monoxide poisoning at London hotel
Olive Press
A SPANIARD has died from carbon monoxide poisoning while staying at a hotel in London. Marcos Severa, 34, from Mallorca, was poisoned after the toxic gas allegedly leaked into the heating system of the Mayflower hotel in upmarket Kensington... The two victims had traveled to the capital to attend a concert on Sunday night and shared a room… Police have reported that the ‘initial examinations’ carried out at the hotel, which was evacuated and remains cordoned off, showed ‘a high volume of carbon monoxide’… There may be another 14 victims of poisoning, although they do not know their status…

Carbon monoxide killed her brother; now she wants to save others
Asbury Park Press
Carbon monoxide is a killer, and without precautions, the odorless gas will kill again. She is making raising awareness about carbon monoxide her mission so that another family can be spared her pain. "It just strikes at any moment," said Rawls-Anderson, "(but) there are some steps we can take… It was a silent killer that took the lives of John Thomas Rawls and his friend as the two men worked on a house under construction in Lake City, Florida… The local Florida papers said "an apparent gas leak" killed Rawls, a cabinet and kitchen remodeler who was restoring the Florida home he died within… “This year would have been the fifth year anniversary of his death," said his sister Melissa Rawls-Anderson…

Electrical fault to blame for fatal Lower Sackville fire
TheChronicleHerald.ca
An electrical problem is the likely cause of the Saturday morning duplex fire in Lower Sackville that claimed two lives… “There was one working smoke alarm in this home, but it’s our belief if there had been more than one working smoke alarm, the outcome might have been different…Our firefighters worked to exhaustion to affect the searches and extricate the occupants.”… “Do you have a smoke alarm on every floor? Are they within five metres of sleeping quarters? Do you have a carbon monoxide detector? And do you have two clear exits from every room in your house. These are the questions that when you answer ‘yes’ … you can save a life.”…

More than 400 carbon monoxide detectors to be donated to Miami Valley Fire Departments
WKEF ABC 22
MIAMI VALLEY, Ohio - Several fire departments around the Miami Valley will be receiving carbon monoxide (CO) detectors from the Dayton Firefighters Federal Credit Union… Four hundred and fifty detectors are to be donated to the Kettering, Trotwood, Butler Township, Troy, Fairborn, Xenia Township, and West Carrollton Fire Departments over the next two weeks… The donation is part of the credit union’s holiday skip-a-payment program…

Carbon monoxide alarm saves Ferdinand couple
The Herald
FERDINAND — Ferdinand Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Hoppenjans credits the activation of an elderly couple’s carbon monoxide alarm with saving their lives Saturday night… An investigation quickly determined the couple’s car had accidentally been left running in the garage, which resulted in carbon monoxide fumes entering the living space, according to Hoppenjans… Firefighters donned breathing apparatus and used a gas detector to confirm there were dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide in the house…

Three die apparently from inhaling carbon monoxide
Benoni City Times
The Msimango family is in despair after three of their family members tragically died… It is alleged they may have died due to inhaling carbon monoxide gas from a coal stove…

Safety Education - Poster Contest Listing
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
We challenged middle school students to create posters warning people about the dangers of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO). Did students ever step up to the challenge! We received 700 poster entries – a record number! Meet the winners of CPSC’s 2015 carbon monoxide poster contest! Watch the video of the winning posters.

Please Note: "Place a carbon monoxide alarm with a digital display on a seat in the motor vehicle when you are out driving in emergency snow conditions (or always for that specific). Harmful levels of carbon monoxide (CO) can penetrate inside a motor vehicle just due to prevailing winds and exhaust not moving away from the vehicle but under it. If you want to learn more about carbon monoxide, begin measuring it with a personal CO monitor everywhere you go." Bob Dwyer, CSME Carbon Monoxide Safety 
  
Scroll Down For More of Today's CO & Air Quality News Links 
Please, stop diagnostic errors; start testing for carboxyhemoglobin
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 (1933-2017)

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: Carbon Monoxide Survivor

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
"Love Song To The Earth" - Official Lyric Video

CO, Air Quality & Pollution News Links

Winter weather reminds us of importance of traveling safely
VVdailypress.com
Travel in a recreational vehicle can come in many forms. Rollin’ down the highway as well as in camp, we all want our RV to be as safe as possible… Ensuring proper environment within your coach is made easier with new smoke and carbon monoxide sensors. Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of incomplete combustion. Improperly ventilated, appliances such as stoves, furnaces, ovens, water heaters, and generators can increase the deadly carbon monoxide concentration levels in your rig. A carbon monoxide sensor warns you and allows for proper resolution…

Wico. Co. Emergency Services: Change your clock, change your batteries
WMDT
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. - Wicomico County is encouraging all of their residents to change their batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, while they change the time for daylight savings this Sunday. It's a push for residents to do their annual check up to see if they're still working…

"If you smell gas, get out fast." But, then what happens next?
RiverBender.com
EDWARDSVILLE - As all users of natural gas should know - if a smell of rotten eggs is noticed within the home, it could be a gas leak. That smell is added artificially to the product as a safety measure. Usually, natural gas has no odor whatsoever. That pungent smell is a way to notify customers they have a leak, which can be serious trouble. While nine times out of 10, the smell is not related to gas or an overall minor problem, Ameren Illinois Public Awareness Coordinator Gina Taylor said customers should call any time they notice that smell and cannot find the source immediately… "We don't mind going out to calls and finding out it's nothing," she said…

1 In 9 Wisconsin Women Smoke While Pregnant
Wisconsin Public Radio News
"They work with these women one-on-one providing individual quit plans, doing carbon monoxide breath tests to monitor their progress and help them get over the physical dependency issues with nicotine as well as the psychological dependence,"… Researchers examining United States birth certificates from 2016 found 1 in 14 pregnant women smoked, and in Wisconsin researchers found 1 in 9 pregnant women smoked… The highest rates were in West Virginia, where a quarter of expectant moms smoked… Wisconsin does have some areas with rates that high. But overall, fewer pregnant women are smoking…

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.

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 ...
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 acute levels, but be aware you can still experience symptoms of the poisoning even though the devices are in place.

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

Tribute
George Kerr, a pioneer in smoke and carbon monoxide alarm manufacturing passed away in his home during the early morning of July 4, 2017. George will always be remembered for his passion to save lives and protect the health of people through low level carbon monoxide detection and alarming. He lived for over 84 years, beginning his career in fire safety in 1953. “We’ll never know how many lives we’re saving, but I know we are saving a few.” George E. Kerr (1933-2017)


These following links may be of some use to you:
- The World Clock - Time Zones
- 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 Thirty-two (32) U.S. states along with the District of Columbia have statutes that require carbon monoxide detectors in certain buildings. Updated May 2017
Alaska | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | District of Columbia | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Iowa | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan |
Minnesota | Montana | Nebraska | New Jersey | New Hampshire | New York |
North Carolina | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island |Tennessee
Texas
| Utah |Vermont | Virginia | Washington |West Virginia | Wisconsin |

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
Masimo - see RAD 57
Mahugh Fire & Safety
ESCO Institute
TPI - Test Products International
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