WARNING! DUE TO HEAVY SNOWFALLS, MANY CARBON MONOXIDE POISONINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO NEW YORK TO NEW ENGLAND. LEARN HOW TO PREVENT CO POISONING AND INSTALL CO DETECTORS

WARNING!  DUE TO HEAVY SNOWFALLS, MANY CARBON MONOXIDE POISONINGS HAVE BEEN REPORTED FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO NEW YORK TO NEW ENGLAND.  LEARN HOW TO PREVENT CO POISONING AND INSTALL CO DETECTORS

February 9, 2015

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6 PEOPLE WERE HOSPITALIZED IN PHILLIPSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA FOR CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING, DUE TO GAS-FIRED BOILER MALFUNCTION.  CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS SAVED PEOPLE’S LIVES.

February 9, 2015

PHILLIPSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA:

A malfunctioning heating unit created a buildup of carbon monoxide early Monday in Phillipsburg that sent six people to area hospitals, according to the town fire chief.

The issue with the natural gas-fired boiler was repaired at the property affected in the 800 block of South Main Street, Phillipsburg fire Chief Rich Hay said.

He was unaware of anyone displaced still hospitalized Monday afternoon from the incident that occurred shortly before 5:30 a.m.

The building has a business on the first floor and three apartments on the upper floors, Hay said.

Residents were alerted when a carbon monoxide alarm sounded, officials said.

Hay said the incident serves as a reminder to always have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

"That is what prompted this morning's response," he said of the detector that can alert residents to unsafe levels of the potentially deadly gas that is odorless, tasteless and colorless.

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GORHAM, MAINE CHIEF SAYS BUILDING WHERE TENANTS WERE EXPOSED TO CARBON MONOXIDE LACKED DETECTORS

The apartment building at 147 Plummer Road is shut down as 10 people are treated, six of them in the hospital.

February 9, 2015

GORHAM, MAINE:

Six people were hospitalized and four were treated at the scene Monday after being exposed to dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide in an apartment building in Gorham.


Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the building at 147 Plummer Road, and only two smoke detectors, which were not working.

Residents were not allowed to re-enter an apartment building in Gorham after multiple residents complained of possible exposure to carbon monoxide Monday. 

 

Lefebvre ordered the building closed until code violations are corrected. He cited the lack of carbon monoxide detectors, inoperable smoke detectors, exits blocked with snow, a cracked basement boiler that was leaking carbon monoxide, and snow blocking the boiler’s air intake valve.


Lefebvre said he was unable to provide the Portland Press Herald with the name of the building’s owner, but said the owner has been made aware of the situation.


Lefebvre said there could have been fatalities, if not for one resident of the building who recognized symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. The chief said firefighters recorded a level of 107 parts per million, more than three times the accepted level of 35 parts per million. Residents said they began having symptoms of nausea and dizziness on Friday.


All of the people who were hospitalized were expected to be released Monday night, Lefebvre said. Three of the victims were children, but Lefebvre did not know their ages.


“Until those violations are resolved, we are not going to reopen the building,” Lefebvre said. “There is no question the source of the leak was the boiler.”

Lefebvre said a maintenance man found a crack in the boiler that had leaked carbon monoxide into the building. He said 15 people live in the building, which has six apartments.


Another apartment building on the same lot was unaffected by the gas leak and did not need to be evacuated. That building is not attached to 147 Plummer Road.


Lefebvre said a person who lives at 147 Plummer Road notified authorities around 2:30 p.m. Monday that he suspected he had been exposed to carbon monoxide.


WCSH-TV reported that the resident went to the other apartment units to check on residents and asked if they were feeling ill. Several residents reported similar symptoms of nausea, dizziness and headaches.


Emergency dispatchers activated what is called the Strike Team to draw in equipment, in this case ambulances, from a wider circle of communities. Emergency dispatchers summoned ambulances from towns including Scarborough, Buxton Windham, Standish, Buxton and Windham.


After the fire chief shut down the apartment building, the American Red Cross responded by placing three families in hotels, said spokesman John Lamb. The remaining residents found alternative accomodations for the evening, he said.

Lefebvre said he notified the state Fire Marshal’s Office, which is helping Gorham investigate the alleged code violations. The owner could be charged if the violations are not corrected.


Lefebvre and the state fire marshal’s investigator will meet Tuesday morning and inspect the building, a farmhouse that was converted to apartments.

Carbon monoxide is toxic to humans in concentrations that exceed 35 parts per million. The best treatment for exposure is to leave the building and get fresh air.


Andrew Smith, the state toxicologist, said in an email Monday night that about 100 emergency room visits are linked to carbon monoxide poisoning in a typical year in Maine, and there are one to five deaths.


“The most common causes are faulty furnaces, working on engines in enclosed spaces, and improper use of gasoline powered generators,” Smith said. “The current outbreak of poisonings related to blocked exhaust vents over the past 11 days is very unusual. We have not seen anything like this in the 6 years we have been investigating causes of carbon monoxide poisonings in Maine.”

Smith said 18 people have been affected by five recent incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by blocked vents.


He said that, under state law, rental units are required to have carbon monoxide detectors.


Timothy Nangle, a spokesman for the Portland Fire Department, said that since Jan. 26, the city’s fire department has responded to nine incidents involving carbon monoxide exposure. Nangle could not be more specific as to whether anyone was taken to a hospital for treatment.


Nangle said it is important for property owners to clear snow from any outdoor heating vents, providing at least 3 feet of space for ventilation.

Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning mimic the flu. They can include nausea, fatigue, vomiting, headache, dizziness and shortness of breath.

AS NEW ENGLAND’S SNOWDRIFTS GROW, SO DOES DANGER FROM CARBON MONOXIDE DUE TO BLOCKED GAS EXHAUST VENTS

New England had a number of monoxide poisonings, including a man in Yarmouth, Maine who barely escaped after snow plugged a furnace vent.

YARMOUTH – Kent Ryden doesn’t know why he woke at 6:45 a.m. last Wednesday, but he’s lucky he did.


“I woke up, put my legs over the side of the bed and tried to stand up and realized I couldn’t,” he recalled Thursday. “I was very woozy and having trouble staying conscious.”

Ryden was able to call 911. Within minutes, he was in an ambulance receiving oxygen for carbon monoxide poisoning.


Firefighters discovered that the exhaust vent for the propane furnace at Ryden’s house on Hillside Street had been covered by snow drifts from the blizzard on Jan. 27. The level of carbon monoxide in his bedroom was 1,000 parts per million. Just 35 parts per million would activate a carbon monoxide alarm, but Ryden did not have one.


Ryden, 55, said he should have thought to clear the furnace vents but it didn’t even occur to him. He has lived in the house for the past five years and never had a similar problem. After his close call, he says he’ll make sure the vents are kept clear.


Ryden’s was one of many cases of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in Maine over the past week or so. The surge followed several snowstorms, including the blizzard that dumped 2 feet of snow and more on much of the state.


The Northern New England Poison Control Center reported that in the week following the blizzard, it received 36 reports of confirmed or suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, 29 of them in Maine. The center might tally eight calls for carbon monoxide poisoning in a typical winter week, said Dr. Karen Simone, director of the poison control center, which covers New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.


“A series of these cases involve people who were almost going to succumb but were able to get out on their own. They were sick or weak, physically unable to get out or can’t think well enough to get out,” she said.

Simone said the calls included everything from confirmed emergency room visits to carbon monoxide detectors being activated.


Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas found in combustion fumes, such as those made by cars and trucks, lanterns, stoves, gas ranges and heating systems. It can build up in unventilated areas.


It interferes with the body’s ability to get oxygen to the brain and the heart, which is why people are often disoriented or feel they are having a heart attack, Simone said.


Symptoms can include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting and confusion. Exposure can have lasting effects, such as memory loss and disorientation, and can be fatal.


“We have more snow coming, and of course, we’re worrying about people unable to deal with this or who don’t know how to,” she said.


Simone and area fire officials are urging residents to clear snow around furnace vents and car tailpipes, avoid running machinery or cars in confined spaces and make sure they have working carbon monoxide detectors. State law requires that detectors be installed in rental units, fire officials say.


Officials advise people who suspect carbon monoxide poisoning or whose carbon monoxide detector activates to go outdoors into fresh air and call 911.

Even hard-wired carbon monoxide detectors require fresh batteries every six months or they can signal a false alarm, said Yarmouth Fire Chief Mike Robitaille said.


Several types of household appliances, such as pellet furnaces, propane-powered clothes dryers or kerosene heaters have exhaust vents that should be kept clear of snow. Electric dryer vents should also be cleared to avoid condensation, which can lead to lint build-up, creating a fire hazard.


In Lewiston this week, about 100 workers and customers had to evacuate a building on Mollison Way that houses a bowling alley and two other businesses when carbon monoxide levels climbed above 2,000 parts per million and set off alarms. Snow had covered a rooftop heating unit, causing exhaust gases to get sucked back into the building, fire officials said.


Snow piling up on roofs can create other dangers.

Thursday morning, a rooftop heating unit at Marden’s Surplus & Salvage on Payne Road in Scarborough caught fire after snow blocked an intake vent, causing the heating unit to overheat, Deputy Fire Chief Glen Deering said. The fire was contained to the unit and the area immediately around it.

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HOW TO PREVENT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING DURING HEAVY SNOWFALLS

With all the snow and strong winds heading our way, there will be snowdrifts and potential power outages, a recipe for carbon monoxide poisoning.

The threat of carbon monoxide poisoning is real. You can’t see, smell, or taste the gas. 

“So when the snow blows against the house it can block vents,” said Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor of Hartford Hospital. “If you have a gas-powered dryer, definitely make sure that vent is cleared away because carbon monoxide won’t have anywhere to go but back into your house.”

Dr. Johnson-Arbor heads up the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine at Hartford Hospital, where people with CO poisoning are treated with oxygen. Another potential source of CO, a blocked car tailpipe. 

“Before you turn on your car after the snow stops, be sure to clear off the exhaust area, even if you think there is not snow in the tailpipe,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor. “Be sure to make sure the tailpipe is completely cleared out because there could be snow in there and you might not see it.”

She says generators should be kept outside, at least 20 feet away from your home. 

“You should never put a generator in the house or in the garage, even with the door open,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor. “The gas can drift back into the garage or into the house and can kill you.”

In the blizzard of 2013 there were a couple of deaths linked to carbon monoxide poisoning. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. If everyone in your home comes down with it at the same time, Dr. Johnson-Arbor says it is not likely the flu. She recommends getting out as quickly as possible and calling 911. 

The Connecticut Poison Control Center is open 24/7 to also answer questions, you can call them at 800-222-1222.

To protect yourself and your family, the CDC published the following CO poisoning prevention tips:

• Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home.
• Never leave the motor running in a vehicle parked in an enclosed or partially enclosed space, such as a garage.
• Never run a motor vehicle, generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine outside an open window, door, or vent where exhaust can vent into an enclosed area.
• Never run a generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine inside a basement, garage, or other enclosed structure, even if the doors or windows are open, unless the equipment is professionally installed and vented.
• Keep vents and flues free of debris, especially if winds are high. Flying debris can block ventilation lines.
• Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern, or portable camping stove inside a home, tent, or camper.
• If conditions are too hot or too cold, seek shelter with friends or at a community shelter.

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HOW TO PREVENT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING THIS WINTER. VENTILATE ENCLOSED OR SEMI-ENCLOSED SPACES.

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2014/12/carbon-monoxide-poisoning-and-how-to.html

What is carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death.

Where is CO found?

CO is found in combustion fumes, such as those produced by cars and trucks, small gasoline engines, stoves, lanterns, burning charcoal and wood, and gas ranges and heating systems. CO from these sources can build up in enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces. People and animals in these spaces can be poisoned by breathing it.

What are the symptoms of CO poisoning?

The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from CO poisoning before ever experiencing symptoms.

How does CO poisoning work?

Red blood cells pick up CO quicker than they pick up oxygen. If there is a lot of CO in the air, the body may replace oxygen in blood with CO. This blocks oxygen from getting into the body, which can damage tissues and result in death. CO can also combine with proteins in tissues, destroying the tissues and causing injury and death.

Who is at risk from CO poisoning?

All people and animals are at risk for CO 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 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning, more than 20,000 visit the emergency room and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to CO poisoning. Fatality is highest among Americans 65 and older.

How can I prevent CO poisoning from my home appliances?

1. Have your heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
2. Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters (catalytic) indoors. Although these heaters don't have a flame, they burn gas and can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
3. If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator's cooling unit have an expert service it. An odor from the cooling unit of your gas refrigerator can mean you have a defect in the cooling unit. It could also be giving off CO.
4. When purchasing gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as the CSA Group.
5. Install a battery-operated or battery back-up CO detector in your home and check or replace the battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall.

How do I vent my gas appliances properly?

1. All gas appliances must be vented so that CO will not build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
2. Never burn anything in a stove or fireplace that isn't vented.
3. Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys can be blocked by debris. This can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
4. Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
5. Horizontal vent pipes to fuel appliances should not be perfectly level. Indoor vent pipes should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors. This helps prevent CO or other gases from leaking if the joints or pipes aren't fitted tightly.

How can I heat my house safely or cook when the power is out?

1. Never use a gas range or oven for heating. Using a gas range or oven for heating can cause a build up of CO inside your home, cabin, or camper.
2. Never use a charcoal grill or a barbecue grill indoors. Using a grill indoors will cause a build up of CO inside your home, cabin, or camper unless you use it inside a vented fireplace.
3. Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal — red, gray, black, or white — gives off CO.
4. Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors. Using a gas camp stove indoors can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
5. Never use a generator inside your home, basement, or garage or near a window, door, or vent.

How can I avoid CO poisoning from my vehicle?

1. Have a mechanic check the exhaust system of my car every year. A small leak in your car's exhaust system can lead to a build up of CO inside the car.
2. Never run a car or truck in the garage with the garage door shut. CO can build up quickly while your car or truck is running in a closed garage. Never run your car or truck inside a garage that is attached to a house and always open the door to any garage to let in fresh air when running a car or truck inside the garage.
3. If you drive a vehicle with a tailgate, when you open the tailgate, you also need to open vents or windows to make sure air is moving through your car. If only the tailgate is open CO from the exhaust will be pulled into the car.

Carbon Monoxide Hazards from Small Gasoline Powered Engines

Many people using gasoline-powered tools such as high-pressure washers, concrete cutting saws (walk-behind/hand-held), power trowels, floor buffers, welders, pumps, compressors, and generators in buildings or semi enclosed spaces have been poisoned by carbon monoxide (CO). CO can rapidly accumulate (even in areas that appear to be well ventilated) and build up to dangerous or fatal concentrations within minutes. Examples of such poisonings include the following:

1. A farm owner died of CO poisoning while using an 11-horsepower, gasoline-powered pressure washer to clean his barn. He had worked about 30 minutes before being overcome.
2. A municipal employee at an indoor water treatment plant lost consciousness while trying to exit from a 59,000-cubic-foot room where he had been working with an 8-horse-power, gasoline-powered pump. Doors adjacent to the work area were open while he worked. His hospital diagnosis was CO poisoning.
3. Five workers were treated for CO poisoning after using two 8 horse-power, gasoline-powered, pressure washers in a poorly ventilated underground parking garage.
4. A plumber used a gasoline-powered concrete saw in a basement with open doors and windows and a cooling fan. He experienced a severe headache and dizziness and began to act in a paranoid manner. His symptoms were related to CO poisoning.

These examples show a range of effects caused by CO poisoning in a variety of work settings with exposures that occurred over different time periods and with different types of ventilation. Workers in areas with closed doors and windows were incapacitated within minutes. Opening doors and windows or operating fans does NOT guarantee safety. CO is a dangerous poison. Operating gasoline-powered engines and tools indoors is RISKY BUSINESS.

Recommendations

It is not widely known that small gasoline-powered engines and tools present a serious health hazard. They produce high concentrations of CO--a poisonous gas that can cause illness, permanent neurological damage, and death. Because it is colorless, odorless, and nonirritating, CO can overcome exposed persons without warning. Often there is little time before they experience symptoms that inhibit their ability to seek safety. Prior use of equipment without incident has sometimes given users a false sense of safety; such users have been poisoned on subsequent occasions. Recommendations for preventing CO poisoning are provided below for employers, equipment users, tool rental agencies, and tool manufacturers.

All Employers and Equipment Users Should:

1. NOT allow the use of or operate gasoline-powered engines or tools inside buildings or in partially enclosed areas unless gasoline engines can be located outside away from air intakes. Use of gasoline-powered tools indoors where CO from the engine can accumulate can be fatal.
2. An exception to this rule might be an emergency rescue situation in which other options are not available--and then only when equipment operators, assisting personnel, and the victim are provided with supplied-air respirators.
3. Learn to recognize the symptoms and signs of CO overexposure: headache, nausea, weakness, dizziness, visual disturbances, changes in personality, and loss of consciousness. Any of these symptoms and signs can occur within minutes of usage.
4. Always place the pump and power unit of high-pressure washers outdoors and away from air intakes so that engine exhaust is not drawn indoors where the work is being done. Run only the high-pressure wash line inside.
5. Consider the use of tools powered by electricity or compressed air if they are available and can be used safely. For example, electric-powered tools present an electrocution hazard and require specific precautions for safety.
6. If compressed air is used, place the gasoline-powered compressor outdoors and away from air intakes so that engine exhaust is not drawn indoors where the work is being done.
7. Use personal CO monitors where potential sources of CO exist. These monitors should be equipped with audible alarms to warn workers when CO concentrations are too high or when exceeding the NIOSH Ceiling limit for CO of 200 parts per million.

Employers Should Also:

1. Conduct a workplace survey to identify all potential sources of CO exposure.
2. Educate workers about the sources and conditions that may result in CO poisoning as well as the symptoms and control of CO exposure.
3. Always substitute with less hazardous equipment if possible. Use equipment that allows for the placement of gasoline-powered engines outdoors at a safe distance from air entering the building.
4. Monitor employee CO exposure to determine the extent of the hazard.

Equipment Users Should Also:

1. Substitute with less hazardous equipment whenever possible. Use electric tools or tools with engines that are separate from the tool and can be located outside and away from air intakes.
2. Learn to recognize the warning symptoms of CO poisoning.
3. If you have any symptoms, immediately turn off equipment and go outdoors or to a place with uncontaminated air.
4. Call 911 or another local emergency number for medical attention or assistance if symptoms occur. Do NOT drive a motor vehicle--get someone else to drive you to a health care facility.
5. Stay away from the work area until the tool has been deactivated and measured CO concentrations are below accepted guidelines and standards.
6. Watch coworkers for the signs of CO toxicity.

Tool Rental Agencies Should:

1. Put warning labels on gasoline-powered tools. For example:
   WARNING--CARBON MONOXIDE PRODUCED DURING USE CAN KILL--DO NOT USE INDOORS OR IN OTHER SHELTERED AREAS.
2. Tell renters that gasoline-powered tools should NOT be used indoors and explain why.
3. Recommend safer tools for the intended use if available.
4. Have portable, audible CO monitors for rent and encourage their use.
5. Provide renters with educational materials like this information sheet.

Tool Manufacturers Should:

1. Design tools that can be used safely indoors.
2. Provide warning labels for existing and new gasoline-powered equipment. For example:
   WARNING--CARBON MONOXIDE PRODUCED DURING USE CAN KILL--DO NOT USE INDOORS OR IN OTHER SHELTERED AREAS.
3. Provide recommendations for equipment maintenance to reduce CO emissions.
4. Recommend the use of portable, audible CO monitors with small gasoline-powered engines.

NIOSH Publications

ALERT: Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Small Gasoline-Powered Engines and Tools
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 96-118 (1996)
Describes health effects and current standards and guidelines relating to carbon monoxide, as well as recommendations for workers, employers, and manufacturers regarding small gasoline powered engine safety.

Two Carpenters Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Secondary To Running A Gas Powered Engine In A Confined Space (Basement Of A Home)
Wisconsin FACE 92WI119
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) containing a case history, investigation report and recommendations.

Carbon Monoxide Kills Three Volunteer Firefighters Inside Well in Pennsylvania
FACE 9030
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) containing a case history, investigation report and recommendations.

NIOSH Update - NIOSH Warns of Deadly Carbon Monoxide Hazard from Using Pressure Washers Indoors
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 93-117 (1993)
Describes the hazards of even small amounts of carbon monoxide poisoning that commonly occur from the use of gasoline powered pressure washers in enclosed spaces.

Worker Notification Program

Through the NIOSH Worker Notification Program, NIOSH notifies workers and other stakeholders about the findings of past research studies related to a wide variety of exposures. The links below present archival materials sent to participants in studies related to toll collectors.


Toll Collectors and Tunnel Officers (Carbon Monoxide)

This Topic page is based on the Alert, "Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning from Small Gasoline-Powered Engines and Tools", Publication No. 96-118a.