Carbon Monoxide Detectors Can Save Lives
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Carbon Monoxide Detectors Can Save Lives
CPSC Document #5010
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends
that consumers purchase and install carbon monoxide detectors
with labels showing they meet the requirements of the new
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) voluntary standard (UL
2034). The UL standard, published in April 1992, requires
detectors to sound an alarm when exposure to carbon monoxide
reaches potentially hazardous levels over a period of time.
Detectors that meet the requirements of UL 2034 provide a greater
safety margin than previously-manufactured detectors.
About 200 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning
associated with home fuel-burning heating equipment. Carbon
monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced when any
fuel is incompletely burned. Symptoms of carbon monoxide
poisoning are similar to flu-like illnesses and include
dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nausea, and irregular breathing.
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.
The first line of defense against carbon monoxide is to make sure
that all fuel-burning appliances operate properly. Consumers
should have their home heating systems (including chimneys and
flues) inspected each year for proper operations and leakage.
Inspectors should check all heating appliances and their
electrical and mechanical components, thermostat controls and
automatic safety devices.
Properly working carbon monoxide detectors can provide an early
warning to consumers before the deadly gas builds up to a
dangerous level. Exposure to a low concentration 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. Most of the devices cost under $100. Each home should
have at least one carbon monoxide detector in the area outside
individual bedrooms. CPSC believes that carbon monoxide detectors
are as important to home safety as smoke detectors are.
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