The 'Scoop' on Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Most people are aware of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and that CO comes from general combustion. Roughly 50% of poisonings occur at home, 40% in cars, and 10% in workplaces. It can cause symptoms like the flu to seizure, coma, respiratory failure and death. You can reduce chances of poisoning by having your furnace, gas stove, and fireplace checked annually by a qualified professional, make sure the exhaust on your auto is in good working condition, avoiding to run any combustion engine or heater in an enclosed space, and avoiding to heating the home with a stove or grill. However, one of the most important items you can purchase to reduce the chances of illness or death from carbon monoxide poisoning is a carbon monoxide (CO) detector. Installing a CO detector inside your home will provide an early warning of accumulating CO. Household alarms measure how much CO has accumulated.


I have gotten a few questions regarding carbon monoxide. One question received probably most of all is why their alarm has sometimes gone off and they don’t feel sick. There may be two reasons for this.

Currently, CO alarms sound when the concentration of CO in the air corresponds to 10% COHb level in the blood. Since 10% COHb is at the very low end of CO poisoning, the alarm may sound before people feel particularly sick. Secondly, pollution and atmospheric conditions in some areas cause low levels of CO to be present for long periods of time. In fact, these “background” conditions may increase CO over the 10% COHb equivalency level, causing older CO alarms to sound even though conditions inside the home are not truly hazardous. The newer alarms have been designed to reduce sensitivities to compensate for these background conditions. Please treat all CO alarm warning sounds as real, until it has been verified that there is no threat from equipment in the dwelling.


So what do you do if the alarm sounds. If the alarm sounds and no one is exhibiting symptoms, reset the detector. If it sounds again, you probably have a low level CO problem which can cause chronic fatigue and other illnesses. Call a professional heating contractor or the fire department for assistance immediately. If the alarm sounds and you or anyone in the household has symptoms of a headache or drowsiness, it’s recommended that everyone leaves the building right away. Leave doors open as you go. Shut down heating and cooking equipment. You should use a neighbor’s phone to report the CO alarm warning to the fire department. Be on the lookout for any symptoms of poisoning. The fire department will usually check your home with a special detector to see if the problem is verified.


It’s important to remember the CO alarm is not a substitute for a smoke detector. Smoke detectors react to fire byproducts and would sound far before the CO detector in order to give an earlier warning for an escape. The problem with them is that they may not be specific to CO. Be sure that you know the difference between the sound of the smoke detector and the CO alarm. Have a home escape plan for any emergency and practice the plan with all the members of the household.


If you have any questions or require any further assistance regarding carbon monoxide, please contact your local health department or fire department for assistance.


For Carbon Monoxide Facts, click on my link at http://www.environmentalhealthguy.com/articles.php?aID=25


Christopher Hinz
Environmental Health Specialist
Waushara, Green Lake,and Marquette Counties