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Carbon Monoxide (CO) Fact Sheet |
| NY City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene |
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How does carbon monoxide affect my body?
Carbon monoxide prevents oxygen in the blood from being carried throughout
the body, causing asphyxiation. CO remains in the body for a long time - the
half-life of CO in the body is about five hours. |
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What are the symptoms of CO poisoning?
The effects depend on how much carbon monoxide is in the air, how long it is
breathed, and how healthy, active, and sensitive to CO an individual is.
Exposure to CO is worse for older people, fetuses, and people with heart,
circulatory, or lung disease.
Low concentrations of CO can cause headache, loss of alertness, flu-like
symptoms, nausea, fatigue, fast breathing, confusion, disorientation, and
overall weakness. In addition, it can cause chest pain in people with heart
disease. CO can also impair judgment and cause decreased learning ability
in school children.
High concentrations of CO can cause coma (unconsciousness) and death.
The longer a person breathes CO, the worse the effects. For example,
breathing air which has 400 parts per million (ppm) of CO in it will cause a
headache after one or two hours, but can kill some people after three hours.
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Unintentional Deaths from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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Recent advances in technology have improved the
effectiveness of CO detection devices in preventing unintentional CO
poisoning. Older CO detection devices measured only CO concentration;
however, newer CO detection devices are able to measure cumulative CO
exposure, which is a more useful measure of health risk. Underwriters Laboratories has recently
implemented a standard (ANSI/UL 2034-02) for certifying CO detectors for home
use |
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What You Should Know About Combustion
Appliances |
| U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission |
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The most common
symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness,
nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of carbon
monoxide ingestion can cause loss of consciousness and death.
Unless suspected, carbon monoxide poisoning can be difficult to diagnose
because the symptoms mimic other illnesses. People who are
sleeping or intoxicated can die from carbon monoxide poisoning before
ever experiencing symptoms. |
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ENTIRE ARTICLE |
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Inspect Home Furnace System For Hazards, Carbon Monoxide |
| U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission |
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Consumers should be alert to carbon monoxide (CO) gas in the home, CPSC
added. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas. People exposed to
harmful levels of the gas often show symptoms similar to flu-like illnesses,
including dizziness, fatigue, headaches, irregular breathing and nausea.
CPSC estimates that there were 57 carbon monoxide deaths in 1986 from
gas-fired furnaces, and 14 involving oil-fueled furnaces. The agency said
inspection of home heating systems is important to reduce the risk of death.
(A more recent review claims
CO as the leading cause of more than 15,000 accidental poisoning deaths
in the United States each year and another 10,000 injuries according to the
Carbon Monoxide Medical Association) |
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ENTIRE ARTICLE |
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Carbon
Monoxide Poisoning |
| National Center for Environmental Health |
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All people and animals are at risk for carbon
monoxide poisoning. Certain groups -- unborn babies, infants, and
people with chronic heart disease, anemia, or respiratory problems --
are more susceptible to its effects. Each year, more than 500
Americans die from unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, and more than 2,000 commit suicide by intentionally poisoning
themselves. (A more recent review claims
CO as the leading cause of more than 15,000 accidental poisoning deaths
in the United States each year and another 10,000 injuries according to the
Carbon Monoxide Medical Association) |
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ARTICLE |
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