Carbon
Monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of the fossil
fuels - gas, oil, coal and wood used in boilers, engines, oil burners,
gas fires, water heaters, solid fuel appliances and open fires.
Dangerous
amounts of CO can accumulate when as a result of poor installation,
poor maintenance or failure or damage to an appliance in service,
the fuel is not burned properly, or when rooms are poorly ventilated
and the Carbon Monoxide is unable to escape.
Having no smell,
taste or colour, in today's world of improved insulation and double glazing it
has become increasingly important to have good ventilation, maintain all appliances
regularly and to have absolutely reliable detector alarms installed giving both
a visual and audible warning immediately there is a build up of CO to dangerous
levels.
NO
SMELL and NO TASTE and NO COLOUR
And
it is for these reasons that CO detectors
are the only way to alert you to increasingly dangerous levels of
CO before tragedy strikes.
What
are the effects of carbon monoxide?
Carbon
Monoxide produces the following physiological effects on people
exposed to the concentrations shown:
| Concentration
of CO in air |
Inhalation
time and toxic developed |
| 50
parts per million (ppm) |
Safety
level as specified by the Health and Safety Executive |
| 200
PPM |
Slight
headache within 2-3 hours |
| 400
PPM |
Frontal
headache within 1-2 hours, becoming widespread in 3 hours |
| 800
PPM |
Dizziness,
nausea, convulsions within 45 minutes, insensible in 2 hours |
Carbon
Monoxide poisons by entering the lungs via the normal breathing
mechanism and displacing oxygen from the bloodstream. Interruption
of the normal supply of oxygen puts at risk the functions of the
heart, brain and other vital functions of the body.
The
above information is for a healthy adult. Persons suffering from
heart or respiratory health problems, infants and small children,
unborn children, expectant mothers and pets can be affected by CO
poisoning more quickly than others in the household and may be the
first to show symptoms.
For
in-depth information about Carbon Monoxide
click here
To
learn more about protection yourself
click here
To
learn about Carbon Monoxide detectors
click here
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