Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and toxic gas produced as a by-product of combustion. Any fuel burning appliance, vehicle, tool or other device has the potential to produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide gas. Examples of carbon monoxide producing devices commonly in use around the home include:
• Fuel fired furnaces (non-electric)
• Gas water heaters
• Fireplaces and woodstoves
• Gas stoves
• Gas dryers
• Charcoal grills
• Lawnmowers, snowblowers and other yard equipment
• Automobiles
Medical Effects of Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide inhibits the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to body tissues including vital organs such as the heart and brain. When CO is inhaled, it combines with the oxygen carrying hemoglobin of the blood to form carboxyhemoglobin (COHb).
Once combined with the hemoglobin, that hemoglobin is no longer available for transporting oxygen.
How quickly the carboxyhemoglobin builds up is a factor of the concentration of the gas being inhaled (measured in parts per million or PPM) and the duration of the exposure. Compounding the effects of the exposure is the long half-life of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood. Half-life is a measure of how quickly levels return to normal. The half-life of carboxyhemoglobin is approximately 5 hours. This means that for a given exposure level, it will take about 5 hours for the level of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood to drop to half its current level after the exposure is terminated.
The Essay on The Effects Of Carbon Monoxide (CO) On The Human Body
... oxygen with carbon monoxide fills the red blood cell with carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). ... fetal growth and carbon monoxide exposure to the fetus. Carbon monoxide has also ... are extremely sensitive to carbon monoxide levels. This is because their ... gas. Its chemical formula is CO. Carbon monoxide is mostly formed from the incomplete combustion of carbon and/or molecules that contain carbon. Carbon monoxide ...
Symptoms Associated With a Given Concentration of COHb
• 10% COHb – No symptoms. Heavy smokers can have as much as 9% COHb. • 15% COHb – Mild headache.
• 25% COHb – Nausea and serious headache. Fairly quick recovery after treatment with oxygen and/or fresh air. • 30% COHb – Symptoms intensify. Potential for long term effects especially in the case of infants, children, the elderly, victims of heart disease and pregnant women. • 45% COHb – Unconsciousness
• 50+% COHb – Death
Since one can’t easily measure COHb levels outside of a medical environment, CO toxicity levels are usually expressed in airborne concentration levels (PPM) and duration of exposure. Expressed in this way, symptoms of exposure can be stated as in the Symptoms Associated With a Given Concentration of CO Over Time table below.
As can be seen from the table, the symptoms vary widely based on exposure level, duration and the general health and age on an individual. Also note the one recurrent theme that is most significant in the recognition of carbon monoxide poisoning- headache, dizziness and nausea. These ‘flu like’ symptoms are often mistaken for a real case of the flu and can result in delayed or misdiagnosed treatment. When experienced in conjunction with a the sounding of a carbon monoxide these symptoms are the best indicator that a potentially serious buildup of carbon monoxide exists.
Symptoms Associated With a Given Concentration of CO Over Time
|PPM CO |Time |Symptoms | |35 |8 hours |Maximum exposure allowed by OSHA in the workplace over an eight hour period. | |200 |2-3 hours |Mild headache, fatigue, nausea and dizziness. | |400 |1-2 hours |Serious headache-other symptoms intensify. Life threatening after 3 hours. | |800 |45 minutes |Dizziness, nausea and convulsions. Unconscious within 2 hours. Death within 2-3 hours. | |1600 |20 minutes |Headache, dizziness and nausea. Death within 1 hour. | |3200 |5-10 minutes |Headache, dizziness and nausea. Death within 1 hour. | |6400 |1-2 minutes |Headache, dizziness and nausea. Death within 25-30 minutes. | |12,800 |1-3 minutes |Death |
Health Effect of Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a odorless, tasteless, colorless and toxic gas. Carbon monoxide is produced as a by-product of combustion. Any combustion process, fuel burning appliance, vehicle or other device has the potential to produce carbon monoxide gas. Carbon monoxide is dangerous because it inhibits the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to vital organs such as the heart and brain. Inhaled CO combines with the oxygen carrying hemoglobin of the blood and forms carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) which is unusable for transporting oxygen. Health effects of various concentration of carbon monoxide:
The Essay on Carbon Monoxide Gas Symptoms Detectors
Imagine a killer perfect enough to travel through the corridors of your home completely undetectable to the eye of its prey. It can't be heard, can't be smelled, and before you or anyone in your household realizes that something is wrong, it could already be too late. Over ten thousand people fall victim to carbon monoxide poisoning and over one thousand five hundred die per year of this gas so ...
1) ppm – parts per million – is defined as the mass of the component in solution divided by the total mass of the solution multiplied by 106 (one million) 2) The maximum exposure allowed by OSHA in the workplace over an eight hour period is 35 ppm. 3) Typical sickness symptoms are mild headache, fatigue, nausea and dizziness. 4) A CO concentration of 12-13.000 ppm is deadly after 1-3 minutes. A CO concentration of 1600 ppm is deadly after one hour.
