Thursday, October 13, 2016

Carbon Monoxide News October 13, 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.


“I had a stick of CareFree gum, but it didn't work. I felt pretty good while I was blowing that bubble, but as soon as the gum lost its flavor, I was back to pondering my mortality.” Mitch Hedberg (1968 - 2005, bio link)

"Question" 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

Essex police investigate unexplained death of elderly couple found dead at house
Daily Mail
An elderly man and his disabled wife who were found dead in their bungalow may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning…

Fire officials investigating carbon monoxide leak in Chinatown
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Fire Department personnel responded to high carbon monoxide readings Thursday morning at an apartment building… Peak carbon monoxide readings were reported at 130 parts per million and a Level 2 HazMat response was called, fire officials said…

Simple and important safety tips for Fire Prevention Week
KTVB.com
“It Is absolutely imperative that everyone have a working smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm,” says Idaho State Fire Marshal Knute Sandahl… The importance of a working fire alarm is just as significant as a functioning carbon monoxide filter, as the colorless and odorless gas is poisonous and dangerous if undetected...

How to Guard Against Deadly Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
HealthDay
Anything that burns gasoline, wood, coal, oil and propane -- including home heating and cooking equipment -- can be a source of this dangerous gas, the fire association explains. That's why it's important to have your heating system professionally serviced once a year, along with any other appliances such as water heaters or stoves that burn these fuels…

BTV Fire Officials: Quick Response Made Sure House Fire Wasn't Worse
My Champlain Valley FOX44 & ABC22
"It's a building, Buildings can be repaired, replaced. People cannot,"…

Coloring book spreads CO awareness
West Seneca Bee
Ken Hansen, founder of the organization and father of Amanda Hansen, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009, said the organization is working hard to expand its efforts through a coloring and activity book for children… “I wished I had something that I could pass out to kids that was more educational and to help them understand [carbon monoxide] better,” he said. “I thought it would be great to have a coloring book for the kids.”

Chimney sweeps: Major key in fire prevention safety
KSHB
"We're just trying to bring awareness to chimney fires and carbon monoxide poisoning that can happen when there's a faulty chimney," Midwest Chimney Safety Council President Marge Padgitt said… "There are about 15,000 per year that are recorded and many, many more thousands that are not ," Padgitt said. "There's a lot of damage out there that people aren't aware of. They need to have their chimney checked before they use it."…

Landlord charged under fire code
St. Catharines Standard
The fire code requires working smoke alarms on every level of a home and working carbon monoxide alarms outside sleeping areas… The charges, under the Ontario Fire Code, came following a small fire in a second-floor apartment at 411 Church St. at 4:15 a.m. Sunday… After extinguishing the fire, firefighters discovered smoke alarms in the affected unit, as well as another unit in the building, had no batteries. There were also no working carbon monoxide alarms in any of the building’s units…

Landlords and agents not up to speed with regulations
Property Reporter
Patricia Barber, Chair of the AIIC, said: "A worryingly large number of letting agents and landlords are still completely unaware of some important new regulations according to our members, who are being asked to explain health and safety rules… There is no excuse for anyone in our industry to ignore regulations, this could be dangerous and very costly in the long run."… In 2014, the British Standards Institution introduced a new set of safety requirements…

Scroll Down For Today's 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

Manzanita seeks public input on open burning
North Coast Citizen
…city officials are asking for public input on tougher open burning regulations. The topic heated up at the council’s Oct. 5 regular meeting, stemming from an incident last July sparking the debate… That’s when a lot was cleared on Cherry Street and a large amount of debris was burned on site for four days… “Open burning emits particles that can be inhaled into the lungs, toxic chemicals, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds,”

Dutch are on target to hit carbon dioxide cut targets: report
DutchNews.nl
Carbon dioxide emissions in the Netherlands are on target to be cut by 23% inn 2020, compared with 1990… The figures, showing a marked improvement on the previous estimate of 19% are contained in a new report on national energy usage which is due to be presented to ministers on Friday. However, sources in The Hague told the paper the revised figures are due at least in part to new ways of calculating the drop, rather than the impact of extra measures to cut greenhouse gases…


US Carbon Dioxide Emissions Hit New 25-Year Low

Wall Street Journal
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions fell to a new 25-year low during the first six months of 2016, helped in large part by power plants switching from coal to natural gas and renewable sources of electricity, according to a Wednesday report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration… Mild weather also played a role. Many regions across the country experienced higher-than-normal temperatures last winter, which reduced demand for heating fuels, the agency said…

Nations meet in Rwanda to tackle greenhouse gases
Daily Nation
Envoys from nearly 200 nations meet in Kigali on Thursday to discuss ridding the world of HFCs, gases introduced to save the ozone layer only to unwittingly assail Earth's climate… Delegates are hopeful that after years of talks, countries are now poised to commit to phasing out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), introduced in the 1990s to replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in refrigerators, aerosols, air conditioners and foam insulation…

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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