Emergency Medical Services
Goverment Disregards Carbon Monoxide Threat
The United States government has been unbelievably slow-paced in enacting legislation to protect its citizens from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, even though CO is the leading cause of accidental poisoning in the country.
CO poisoning claims the lives of 1,500 people in the US annually and causes approximately 40,000 visits to emergency rooms, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The actual numbers of deaths caused by CO exposure; however, are suspected to be much higher than reported because low levels of atmospheric carbon monoxide can trigger myocardial infarction (heart attack) in those with cardiac problems.
CO is a by-product of combustion from fuel burning appliances that, depending on the amount of gas inhaled, can cause nausea, headache, fatigue, and death. But CO alarms can detect the deadly gas and alert people of danger.
The government could easily improve the public safety of its citizens by requiring the use of CO detection devices in automobiles and in homes that have CO producing appliances. Such action would drastically cut incidents of accidental poisoning.
Researchers for the United States' National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 1991 that deaths caused by vehicular CO poisoning could be prevented with a simple CO detector costing just $11.39 per vehicle. This modification could eliminate nearly 60 percent of all accidental CO poisoning by automatically shutting off the ignition in a stationary automobile or automatically opening all electric windows in a moving vehicle.
But such modification was not enforced and consequently 16,000 people died of vehicular CO poisoning in the United States and Canada between 1991 and 2001.
Although most states have failed to pass legislation requiring the installation of CO detectors in residential dwellings, a few states have enacted bills to protect their residents from the poisonous gas.
Rhode Island, for instance, passed legislation in 2001 requiring all homes sold after January 1, 2002, to be equipped with CO detectors. Alaska passed legislation last year requiring CO detection devices to be installed in residences and dwellings.
Georgia, Texas and Indiana have legislation that will become mandatory within the next two years requiring CO detectors in certain residential dwellings. New Jersey has pending legislation that would mandate the installation of CO detectors in all newly occupied residential units and those that have a change of occupancy.
Tired of waiting for state or federal legislation to protect his constituents, City Councillor Charles Yancey in Boston, Massachusetts filed an ordinance calling for mandatory use of CO detectors in all residential dwellings with CO producing appliances in the City of Boston. But unfortunately Boston Mayor Thomas Menino vetoed the legislation.
Government has a responsibility to protect its citizens who may not understand the dangers of carbon monoxide or who may not have the monetary resources available for purchasing CO detection devices.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends that every home be equipped with at least one CO detector that has a loud audible alarm and that is located near the sleeping area. CO detectors for residential dwellings can cost anywhere from $25 to $75 per detector.
This column is dedicated to Rony Michel, a 38-year-old Boston taxi cabdriver, who died of vehicular CO poisoning in his cab on January 24, 2005 and Angel Aviles, a 10-year-old Boston boy who died on January 23, 2005 of vehicular CO poisoning.
