Watch Out for CO!

Did you know that you could be dead in the time it takes you to read this article? 

Few people appreciate how prevalent CO poisoning is, but the fact is that Carbon Monoxide takes the lives of 500 people every year in North America and is dubbed ‘The Silent Killer’. Because it is odourless, colourless and tasteless this deadly gas goes completely unnoticed until it is too late. Symptoms of CO poisoning include headache, fatigue, nausea and dizziness and can be experienced by the average individual with levels of 400 parts per million (ppm) in the air, with death resulting within a few hours from levels of 800 ppm. The average home garage can reach deadly levels in just a few minutes if a car is running inside and an industrial area or commercial parking garage can be equally hazardous if large numbers of vehicles are running at once, which is common during rush hour parking times.

Safe Exposure Guidelines
Most provincial Occupational Health and Safety regulations, acceptable 8-hour exposure to CO is 25 ppm. However this figure is based on a healthy worker in an industrial setting. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends exposure limit for carbon monoxide of around 10 PPM. This is not however a legal requirement for businesses and public places at this time.

Are You At Risk?
Everyone is at risk. Whether you are at work or relaxing at home, CO can creep into your environment in many different ways. In Canada, with our frequently cold climate, we are especially susceptible to CO poisoning because we run our cars and furnaces in enclosed areas with sometimes inadequate ventilation. CO can also be produced by fireplaces, gas appliances and even cigarette smoke. CO gas can vent back into a condo or apartment suite through plumbing pipes or other fixtures that have not been sealed properly during construction. The symptoms of CO poisoning frequently is mistaken for other causes.

Am I being Exposed?
Because the symptoms of CO poisoning mimic the flu (headaches, nausea and dizziness), low exposure levels can go unnoticed and the symptoms are frequently misdiagnosed. CO gas has an affinity for our blood as it replaces the oxygen in the bloodstream and is transported directly to the brain, organs and other tissues. As such, the effects of CO poisoning is accumulative and even small concentrations can build up to toxic levels.

Doesn’t The Government Have Regulations to Protect Us?
Amazingly, there actually isn’t any government standard addressing safe levels of CO gas exposure for people working in offices. In fact, there is no safe levels at all for people exposed to CO gas in their homes. Because of the lack of government regulations regarding CO poisoning, many environments can pose a real danger to the public. Many people have a false sense of security because they have CO monitors installed but the fact is that these monitors do not protect us from low levels of CO gas as they are designed to be triggered only when high concentrations are present. Having a CO monitor is reactive, not proactive. It will alert you to dangerous levels that affect your immediate safety but they are not sensitive enough to detect low levels that are still able to make you very sick.

How Do I Protect Myself and Others Around Me?
Here are a few points that should be considered to help you to create a safe environment for yourself, your family or other people who inhabit your commercial environment:

• Remote car starters can be a source of CO poisoning if they are activated by mistake in your pocket or purse or by children or animals playing with keys. If that car is in an attached garage, you could be venting deadly gas directly into your environment.
• Residents need to ask their property managers and condo association boards about how CO is monitored in their buildings and about how attached and/or enclosed parking garages are ventilated.
• Boards and associations should demand CO monitoring at toxic as well as dangerous levels. This is proactive, not just reactive monitoring to ensure health and well being.
• Warning signs should be posted in all public and private parking garages warning residents, workers and drivers of the dangers of CO poisoning.
• Installing and adjusting appropriate CO monitors and ventilation systems in parking garages make sense for the environment as well as public health. Owners and managers can save up to $50 per parking stall per year with the right system by saving money on utilities.

Carbon Monoxide Monitoring

Personal monitors are available to detect lower levels of CO gas in an enclosed environment. Personal CO monitors are available for managers, owners, developers and private citizens to be aware of exposure to toxic levels which do not pose an immediate threat of death or serious illness but are still high enough to constitute a serious health hazard.

Gasonic Instruments Inc offers a free CO watch for a day to any local business to test their facilities. A full range of portable Air Quality monitors are available for rental from EnviroRentals.

Our parkade carbon monoxide systems uses advance sensor technology that accurately detect low level carbon monoxide and enhance safety while minimizing ventilation run times.

If you have any questions or concerns about the safety of your environment, please call us at 403-276-2201 and let us ensure the safety of yourself and the ones around you!