Facts You should know about Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Facts:

Colorless, odorless and tasteless

A gas slightly less dense than air

Also known as carbonous oxide, carbon(ll) oxide and carbonly

It’s a flammable gas, burns with blue flame.

Carbon Monoxide Atomic Structure

Carbon Atom

Oxygen Atom

How ‘CO’ Formed:• CO is generated from incomplete burning of carbon

containing materials like coal, wood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane, and many more.

Sources of CO:Common sources of CO in homes include fuel-burning devices such as:• furnaces • charcoal grills

• kerosene space heaters • wood stoves

• boilers • lawn mowers

• gas cooking stoves • power generators

• water heaters • camp stoves

• clothes dryers, fireplaces • motor vehicles

some power tools with internal combustion engines.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:

>50%• Death(especially if not removed from exposure)• Seizure, Unconsciousness, Heart Attack

40-50%

• Confusion, Blurred Vision, Shortness of Breath, Pounding Headache, Uncontrolled “sleep”, Vertigo, Loss of Coordination, Chest Pain, Memory Loss.

30-40%

• Impaired Judgment, Difficulty Breathing, Blurring of Vision, Bad Headache, Increasing Drowsiness, Stomach Pain

20-30%

• Drowsiness, Headache, Slight increase in Respiratory Rate, Dizziness

<10%• Sight Headache, Nausea• None

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning symptoms are almost same

with Flu symptoms.

Difference between CO poisoning and the flu?

It could be CO poisoning if:

You feel better when you are away from your home (or carbon monoxide exposure);Several people in the home gets sick at the same time (the flu is usually passed from person to person);

The family members who are most affected spend the most time in the home;Symptoms occur or get worse shortly after turning on a fuel-burning device (furnace, oven, fireplace) or running a vehicle in attached garage;Indoor pets also appear ill (pets may experience symptoms first);

You don’t have a fever or generalized aching and swollen lymph nodes typical with a cold or virus or flu; or

Symptoms appear at the same time as signs of inappropriate ventilation, maintenance, or operation of fuel-burning devices.

Occurrence of Carbon Monoxide:• CO occurs in various natural and artificial environments. Typical concentrations

in parts per million are as follows:

Concentration Source0.1 ppmv Natural atmosphere level (MOPITT)0.5–5 ppmv Average level in homes

5–15 ppmv Near-properly adjusted gas stoves in homes, modern vehicle exhaust emissions

17 ppmv Atmosphere of Venus

100–200 ppmv Exhaust from automobiles in the Mexico City central area

700 ppmv Atmosphere of Mars5,000 ppmv Exhaust from a home wood fire

7,000 ppmv Undiluted warm car exhaust without a catalytic converter

Treatment Call 911

Get the Person to Fresh Air

Begin CPR, if Necessary (If the person is not breathing normally)

Once you're at the hospital

Move the person away from carbon monoxide area.

Perform CPR for one minute before calling 911 if you are alone. Otherwise, have someone else call and begin CPR.

Breathing pure oxygen through a mask placed over your nose and mouth.

Turn off carbon monoxide source if you can do so safely.

Continue CPR until the person begins breathing or emergency help arrives.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy placed in a full –body pressurized chamber. Air pressure is >twice as high as normal atmospheric pressure. This speeds the replacement of CO with O2 in your blood. 

Reference• http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/co/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide• http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/• https://www.cpsc.gov/en/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Carbon-Monoxide-Information-Center/Carbon-Monoxide-Questions-and-Answers-/

• http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/carbon-monoxide/basics/treatment/con-20025444

Contact us:• Website:

• Call us:

• Email:

http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/

1-888-414-8680

http://www.carbonmonoxidekills.com/contact.php