Saturday, November 3, 2018

Carbon Monoxide News November 3, 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.

“Anytime anybody is rude, it makes me double-check my own behavior to make sure I don't do that to other people.” Patricia Heaton (1958, bio 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 - Pollution and Health Effects 
Carbon Monoxide News Links –
More news links below (International Spelling; no edits)

Officials: 7 hospitalized after carbon monoxide leak in Lawrence
Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - Officers responding to 22 Canton St. found multiple people, including a toddler, suffering from dizziness and lightheadedness, along with high levels of carbon monoxide in the home, according to the Lawrence Police Department. - Investigators determined that a boiler vent malfunctioned and pumped the potentially deadly gas into the duplex, a fire official said. (More, video)

16 taken to hospital after carbon monoxide exposure at Jacksonville hotel
WWAY NewsChannel 3
JACKSONVILLE, NC (WNCT) - Jacksonville Public Safety responded to the Holiday Inn Express on the 2000 block of North Marine Boulevard around 3 a.m. - Responding units found high levels of carbon monoxide in the structure. - The building was evacuated, utilities were disconnected and the building was ventilated. - Employees and guests were suffering medical problems due to the high levels of carbon monoxide in the building. (More)

Longmont motel guest treated for carbon monoxide poisoning
Longmont Times-Call
A Super 8 Motel in Longmont was cleared out after a guest was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning in the early hours Monday. - When the hospital notified the fire department, the firefighters returned to the motel. The guests were cleared out of the building as it was aired out. - The department did find some high readings for carbon monoxide throughout the building, particularly in the sick guest's room, and determined the source was a hot water heater in the boiler room (More)

Gas leak call leads to unrelated carbon monoxide discovery
Fort Dodge Messenger
But as firefighters went door-to-door to see if the gas seeped into any houses, they discovered that one of them had a carbon monoxide leak. - Teske said the Fire Department’s equipment registered the level of carbon monoxide at 30 ppm. - Since MidAmerican Energy was already on scene to assist with the gas leak, they were able to get inside the home and stop the leak inside. - Teske said the carbon monoxide leak had no connection to the gas line rupture, and he referred to it as a coincidence. (More)

VIDEO: Five people taken to hospital after carbon monoxide leak
Pirate FM
U.K. - Crews used breathing masks and a gas detector. - Paramedics were called to the scene to check the casualties and all five were taken to hospital to be monitored. - Our fire service has been called out to 112 calls about carbon monoxide over the past year. - Over the past three years there have been six deaths because of CO poisoning in Cornwall. (More, Brief)

Carbon monoxide poisoning may have caused couple's deaths
BBC News
A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Police in Forth Valley attended at a property in Main Street, Cambusbarron at around midday on Tuesday 30 October following a report of concern for the occupants. - It is understood that carbon monoxide poisoning is one line of inquiry being pursued by officers. - Police Scotland said the deaths are currently being treated as unexplained and inquiries are continuing. (Ages 58 & 65) – (More to Read, Brief)

Monitoring for Respiratory Hazards—Challenges and Opportunities in the Workplace
Occupational Health and Safety
Occupational exposure to deadly chemical and physical agents typically occurs through one of the three common routes: inhalation, ingestion, and absorption. - Of these pathways into the human body, inhalation is the fastest because the respiratory system is directly linked to the circulatory system. - Thus, while the process of breathing provides us with the oxygen we need to survive, many of the contaminants that are in the air we may breathe at a work site are in a form that allows them to be deposited deep into the lungs. - Because exposure to these contaminants is not always able to be removed through engineering controls and administrative controls become restrictive to production, PPE in the form of multiple kinds and types of respirators is a commonplace solution. (More)

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!        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
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Video - Propane (LPG) tanks of any size can violently compound a structure fire – KEEP THEM OUTSIDE
BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) Demonstration - How it Happens Training Video--------

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 (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

Ford Explorer CO Complaints Continue Even After Free Fix
NBC4 Washington
Last year, a News4 Consumer Investigation found carbon monoxide inside two Ford Explorers at levels some experts called alarming. Ford insists its vehicles are safe, but after the stories aired, the automaker announced a free fix for more than 1 million Explorers to stop the exhaust odors. - But complaints keep coming in to Safercar.gov the complaint database for the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. (more)

CO safety message to target children
Brantford Expositor
John Gignac has spent the last 10 years tirelessly promoting carbon monoxide safety. - “There are times when I get a little down, a little tired but then I remember why I’m doing this,” said the retired Brantford firefighter. “It’s about Laurie and her family – the lives lost – and it’s about all the lives we’ve saved since then. - “I get letters from people thanking me for what we’ve done and it’s gratifying to know that we’re making a difference. (More)

Change your batteries, change your clocks this weekend
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
WILKES-BARRE — On Sunday, March 11, we all “sprang ahead,” and now it’s time to “fall back.” - Sunday, Nov. 4, marks the return of standard time as we turn our clocks back, which likely means most will leave for work and return home in darkness. - Pennsylvania Acting State Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego is encouraging citizens to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors while changing clocks this weekend. (More)

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...
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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.
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U.S. Carbon Monoxide Laws for each state
National Conference of State Legislatures
As of March 2018, a majority of states have enacted statutes regarding carbon monoxide (CO) detectors, and another 11 have promulgated regulations on CO detectors. Alaska requires detectors approved by the state fire marshal be installed in all dwellings. Connecticut requires them in all new construction, as does New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia. Florida also requires them in new construction, and in every room with a boiler. Minnesota passed a law requiring detectors in motor boats.

CO Detectors in U.S. Homes
27 states and the District of Columbia require carbon monoxide detectors in private dwellings via state statute: Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia (via adoption of the International Residential Code), Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Certain states limit the installation to buildings with fossil-fuel burning devices, others only require the device be installed upon the sale of the property or unit.

Another 11 states require carbon monoxide detectors in private dwellings regulatorily through the adoption of the International Residential Code or via an amendment to their state’s building code: Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming.

CO Detectors in U.S. Schools
California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine and Maryland require carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in school buildings.

CO Detectors in U.S. Hotels and Motels
Fourteen states require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in hotels and motels under the statute. - Three of those states (New Jersey, Vermont and Wisconsin) have complementary administrative regulations. - Two states (Kansas and Washington) have requirements through administrative regulations alone.
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Ontario Canada Carbon Monoxide Alarm Legislation
Ministry of Community Safety & Correctional Services
Hawkins-Gignac Act
Fire Protection and Prevention Act, 1997
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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.

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