Carbon Monoxide

What Is (CO) Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon monoxide (CO) gas is produced by the incomplete burning of fuel. It is poisonous, and even breathing in a small amount can cause loss of consciousness and death. In Ireland about 40 people die from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning every year.

How Is Carbon Monoxide produced?

Carbon monoxide is hard to detect because it has no smell, taste or colour. This also means that it is easy to inhale without realising.

Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels such as gas, oil, coal and wood do not burn fully. When a fire burns in an enclosed room, the oxygen in the room is gradually used up and replaced with carbon dioxide. Following a build-up of carbon dioxide in the air, the fuel is prevented from burning fully and it starts to release carbon monoxide.

The Effects Of Breathing In Carbon Monoxide

When you breathe in carbon monoxide it enters your bloodstream. There it mixes with haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body. However, when carbon monoxide mixes with haemoglobin, the blood is no longer able to carry oxygen. The lack of oxygen causes the body’s tissue and cells to die.

When haemoglobin mixes with carbon monoxide it produces a compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. Carboxyhaemoglobin adversely affects blood vessels in the body, causing them to become leaky. This can lead to swelling in the brain, causing unconsciousness and neurological (nerve) damage.

Gas, oil, coal and wood are all fuel sources that are used in many household appliances, including:

• boilers
• gas fires
• central heating systems
• water heaters
• cookers
• open fires

If the fuel in these appliances does not burn fully, carbon monoxide (CO) gas is produced. Burning charcoal, running cars and smoking cigarettes also results in the production of CO gas.

Standard Oxygen Therapy

If you have been exposed to a high amount of CO gas, you will be treated in hospital. You will be given 100% oxygen through a tight fitting mask (normal air contains around 21% oxygen).

Breathing in concentrated oxygen enables your body to replace carboxyhaemoglobin more quickly. You will continue to have oxygen therapy until your carboxyhaemoglobin levels decrease to a level that is below 10%.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment that saturates (floods) the body with pure oxygen, helping it to overcome the oxygen shortage that is caused by CO poisoning.

There is currently insufficient evidence regarding the long-term effectiveness of HBOT for treating severe cases of CO poisoning. Therefore, standard oxygen therapy (as described above) is usually the recommended treatment option.

However, in certain situations, HBOT may be recommended. For example, it may be used in cases of extensive CO exposure and if nerve damage is suspected. The decision to carry out this treatment will be decided on a case by case basis.

Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The best way to protect both you and your family from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is to be aware of the dangers and to identify the appliances that could emit CO gas.

Be aware of the early warning signs of CO poisoning, and look out for the signs and symptoms.

Follow the guidelines listed below to protect yourself in your home and workplace.

• Make sure that your household appliances are safe and well maintained.
• Boilers, cookers, heating systems and appliances should be installed and regularly serviced by a reputable, registered engineer.
• Anyone carrying out work on gas installations and appliances in your home must be on a Register.
• Never use ovens or gas ranges to heat your home.
• Make sure that rooms are well-ventilated, and do not block air vents. If your home is double-glazed or draught-proofed, make sure there is still enough air circulating for any heaters that are in the room.
• Make sure that all chimneys and flues are swept from top to bottom regularly and that they are kept clear (at least once a year) by a qualified sweep.
• Do not use gas-powered equipment and tools inside your home if you can avoid it. Only use them in a well-ventilated area and put the engine unit and exhaust outside.
• Always use a safety mask when using chemicals that contain methylene chloride.
• Do not leave petrol-fuelled lawnmowers or cars running in the garage.
• Do not burn charcoal in an enclosed space, such as on an indoor barbecue.
• Do not sleep in a room that has an unflued gas fire or a paraffin heater.
• Fit an extractor fan in your kitchen (if it does not already have one).

CO Alarms

The most reliable way of checking CO levels in your house is to install an audible CO alarm. CO alarms are available from DIY and hardware stores. There are several different types of CO alarm.

CO alarms should give out a high-pitched noise when levels of CO are high. However, you should never rely on them entirely because they are a warning system and not a replacement for regularly servicing household appliances.

https://www.hse.ie/eng/health/az/c/carbon-monoxide-poisoning/ [1]