Carbon Monoxide

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Carbon Monoxide

• Healthy Homes Resource
• Purdue Extension
• 2005

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Introduction

• What is Carbon monoxide?
• Should you be concerned?
• Where does CO come from?
• CO and Smoking
• What are the signs of CO Poisoning
• Carbon Monoxide Alarms
• Action Steps

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What is Carbon monoxide?

• Cant see it
• Cant smell it
• Cant Feel it
• Deadly Gas that kills over 5,000 each year
• Comes from fuel-burning appliances

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Should you be concerned?

• Can kill quickly or over time
• Children
• Unborn Babies
• People With Asthma
• Older Adults
• People with Hearth or Lung problems

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Where Does CO Come From?

• Fuel Burning Appliances
• Wood Burning stoves and Fireplaces
• Gas Appliances Stove, Dryers, Ovens
• Kerosene Heaters
• Gas Charcoal Grills
• Cars, Trucks, Campers, Tractors,
• Gas and LP lawnmowers, Snow Blowers
• Tobacco Smoke
• Blocked Chimneys and Flues

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CO and Smoking

• Tobacco Smoke Contains CO
• Secondhand Smoke
• Make minor health problems worse
• Can cause
• Cancer
• Heart disease

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CO Poisoning

• Flu-like Symptoms
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Confusion
• Tiredness
• Weakness

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Questions to Ask About Carbon Monoxide

• More than 1 year since heat source inspected
• Warm up car in closed garage
• Use a kerosene heater indoors
• Burners on stove burn yellow or orange?
• Use kitchen stove or oven to heat home
• Use charcoal grill indoors?

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More Questions

• Does your home have a CO alarm
• Do you use the exhaust fan when cooking
• Does smoke from fireplace ever come back into
  room?
• Is there rust, soot, or dirt on your furnace,
  boiler, or water heater?
• Gas water heater without vent

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Carbon Monoxide Alarms

• Makes a loud noise
• Plug-in or battery operated
• UL or other laboratory approved
• Check batteries every 6 months
• Place near each sleeping area
• One each floor
• Cost 20-50

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Action Steps

• Never
• Warm up a car in a closed garage
• Have your furnace, chimneys checked annually
• use charcoal grills, or engines inside
• Make sure chimneys are in good shape
• If you use unvented kerosene heaters indoors
  Open a window for fresh air

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Action Steps

• Carbon monoxide Alarms near sleeping areas
• Do not use stove or oven to heat home
• Always use exhaust fan when using the oven
• Have stove fixed if it burns with yellow flame
• Dont use a smoking fireplace

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If you Suspect Carbon Monoxide

• Get outside Right Away
• Call 9-1-1 from a phone outside the home
• See a doctor or nurse
• Treat all alarm sounds as an emergency
• Have home checked by qualified contractor
• Dont go back until all problems are fixed

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Carbon Monoxide Summary

• Tasteless, Odorless, Colorless Gas
• Comes from combustion appliances that arent
  adjusted properly
• Cause flu-like systems and drowsiness
• Use CO alarms near all sleeping areas
• Leave immediately if you suspect CO

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The End!

• Questions????
• Prepared by Catherine E. Burwell, Ph.D. and
  Kendra Freeman
• Purdue Cooperative Extension Service
• 2005