Carbon Monoxide

Sources of carbon monoxide include any combustion appliance including unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, wood stoves, fireplaces, furnaces, and gas stoves. Carbon monoxide also comes from chimneys and flues that are improperly installed or maintained and cracked furnace heat exchangers. Carbon monoxide from combustion appliances with no dedicated outdoor air supply can “back-draft” from the chimney into the living space.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that interferes with the delivery of oxygen throughout the body. At high concentrations it can cause unconsciousness and death. Lower concentrations can cause a range of symptoms from headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, and disorientation, to fatigue in healthy people and episodes of increased chest pain in people with chronic heart disease. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are sometimes confused with the flu or food poisoning. Fetuses, infants, elderly people, and people with anemia or with a history of heart or respiratory disease can be especially sensitive to carbon monoxide exposures.

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