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Publication #FAR5037

 

Protecting Your Family from Carbon Monoxide1

Donna Davis2

Figure 1. 
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Each year, news stories tell the sad tales of families who succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a colorless, odorless, and poisonous gas that can put any family at risk. Everyday household appliances, cars and trucks, burning charcoal, and wood and heating systems produce CO. The problem arises when the carbon monoxide builds up in enclosed spaces.

According to the CDC, carbon monoxide takes the lives of more than 500 Americans each year from unintentional inhalation and more than another 2,000 who commit suicide each year by intentionally poisoning themselves with the gas (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). How can you protect your family from the harmful, even deadly, effects of carbon monoxide? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends a number of steps you can take.

For example, make certain professionals install all household appliances according to the manufacturer's instructions and building codes. Also have your heating system inspected and serviced annually. Don't forget to check chimneys, flues, and vents. This is especially important during the cold months when heating your home. And in the warmer months or if you've lost electricity due to a storm, don't forget: never burn charcoal inside your home, garage or tent. And likewise, don't use portable fuel-burning camping equipment or generators inside where ventilation is limited.

Finally, install a CO detector/alarm in your hallway near every sleeping area of your home. It can be just as important as the smoke detector in saving the lives of your loved ones.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/294.mp3

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/294.wav

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.) Carbon monoxide poisoning. Retrieved August 10, 2007, from http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm.

Consumer Products Safety Commission. (n.d.) Carbon monoxide questions and answers. Retrieved August 10, 2007, from http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/466.html.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR5037, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 294 and published October 2010. Reviewed March 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Donna Davis, senior producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.