Install Detectors in the Home to Avoid Carbon Monoxide
Poisoning
Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 - DENVER - State health officials
Thursday urged Coloradans to purchase and install carbon
monoxide detectors in their homes to prevent exposure to
carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless gas that is produced
when any fuel is incompletely burned.
With temperatures dropping, thermostats in the home get
turned up, which could increase the risk of carbon monoxide
poisoning if heating equipment goes unchecked and turns out
to be faulty, warned state health officials.
“Carbon monoxide detectors are as important to home
safety as smoke detectors, and each home should have at
least one detector in an area near individual bedrooms,”
said Therese Pilonetti, a program manager for the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment’s Consumer
Protection Division.
She explained that carbon monoxide can leak from faulty
furnaces or fuel-fired heaters or can be trapped inside by a
blocked chimney or flue. “Burning charcoal inside the house
or running an automobile engine in an attached garage also
will produce carbon monoxide in the home,” said Pilonetti.
She said the first line of defense against carbon
monoxide is to make certain that all fuel-burning appliances
operate properly. “Have your home heating systems, including
chimneys and flues, inspected each year for proper
operations and leakage. Make certain an inspector checks all
heating appliances and their electrical and mechanical
components, thermostat controls and automatic safety
devices,” Pilonetti advised.
The second line of defense is a properly working carbon
monoxide detector, which can provide an early warning to
consumers before the gas builds up to a dangerous level.
Exposure to a low concentration of carbon monoxide over
several hours can be as dangerous as exposure to high carbon
monoxide levels for a few minutes. The new detectors will
detect both conditions.
Pilonetti said carbon monoxide detectors are affordable,
costing as little as $10.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to
flu-like illnesses and include dizziness, fatigue,
headaches, nausea and irregular breathing.
For a brochure on carbon monoxide, call Ellen Cohen at
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s
Office of Communications, 303-692-2021.
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