Last week's hospitalization of more than a dozen children in Dallas and the recent deaths of seven Kentucky residents illustrate the real dangers of carbon monoxide.
Keep your family safe with the safety measures below as well as this advice.
1. Maintain your gas furnace or other fuel-burning heating appliance, like a wood or pellet stove. Beyond doing the usual maintenance and cleaning, you should check all flues, vents, and chimneys that carry the burned gases for proper operation and signs of corrosion or leaks. Repair or replace the vent system as needed.
2. Be cautious when using a propane- or kerosene-fired space heater or portable generator (see the video for more on using a generator).
3. Install smoke and carbon-monoxide alarms. Replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old and CO alarms that are more than 5 years old. Check the unit's housing for a manufacturer date if you are not sure of its age.
4. Check your gas-dryer vent for blockages and replace any vinyl tubing with rigid metal ducting. Also seal all joints. A properly vented gas or electric dryer will dry your clothes faster and reduce the chance of a fire.—Gian Trotta
Essential information: Be prepared for any weather emergency.
The EPA just released a Carbon Monoxide assessment draft and the Agency is seeking comments. See details below:
________________________
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL8779-4; Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-ORD-2007-0925]
Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Carbon Monoxide
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of public comment period.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of a document titled, "First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Carbon Monoxide" (EPA/600/R-09/019). This draft document was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) within EPA's Office of Research and Development as part of the review of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for carbon monoxide.
EPA is releasing this draft document to seek review by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) and the public. The draft document does not represent and should not be construed to represent any final EPA policy, viewpoint, or determination. EPA will consider any timely public comments submitted in response to this notice when revising the document.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 8, 2009.
ADDRESSES: The "First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Carbon Monoxide" will be available primarily via the Internet on the National Center for Environmental Assessment's home page under the Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A limited number of CD-ROM or paper copies will be available. Contact Ms. Debbie Wales by phone (919-541-4731), fax (919-541-5078), or e-mail (wales.deborah@epa.gov) to request either of these, and please provide your name, your mailing address, and the document title, "First External Review Draft Integrated Science Assessment for Carbon Monoxide" (EPA/600/R-09/019) to facilitate processing of your request.
Information taken from http://www.CyberRegs.com
This advice is invaluable! To your readers I urge you to take this stuff seriously! I have to admit that at first I thought my husband was just being paranoid when he wanted to buy a CO detector, he asked me to go out and do a little research. I was blown away to find out just how many people get sick and even die from this problem! I now understand that when I have gotten sick at work, dizzy, nauseous, headache, and like I might faint, it is down to the air! At first I thought it was just the worlds fastest flu! I would always feel 100% again by the time I was home and couldn't figure out what the heck was going on, now I know and I can take precautions! Really people ignore this at their peril! Thanks for the blog, lets hope it helps to raise public awareness!
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