                          SUBMITTED BY
                            KEN SOBEL
                      SAFETY ADMINISTRATOR
                       CITY OF LOS ANGELES
                         (213) 485-4691

_________________________________________________________________


               CARBON MONOXIDE - THE SILENT KILLER


You wake up one morning feeling dizzy, light-headed, weak and
nauseous.  "It's just the flu," you say to yourself.  Yes, you may
have the flu, but you also may be experiencing symptoms of carbon
monoxide (CO) poisoning.  If your whole family has these flu-like
symptoms, there's a very good chance that carbon monoxide is the
cause.

In November, 1981, thirty-three workers at a Bay Area dried food
packaging plant were sent to the hospital complaining of a variety
of symptoms including dizziness, faintness, and nausea.  An
investigation by the State Division of Occupational Safety and
Health (Cal/OSHA) traced the source of the mysterious illness to a
buildup of increased levels of carbon monoxide in the work area due
to improperly tuned forklift engines.  Subsequently, the company
decided to use electric-powered forklifts.

Carbon monoxide is an insidious killer.  It is an odorless,
colorless, tasteless gas produced during the combustion of carbon-
containing substances such as paper, wood and petroleum products. 
Potential sources of carbon monoxide are fuel-burning (gasoline,
utility gas, propane, charcoal, wood, coal, oil, or kerosene)
stoves, ovens, clothes dryers, refrigerators, water heaters,
furnaces, portable heaters, hibachis, charcoal grills and
fireplaces.  Automobiles are yet another source.

Carbon monoxide is sometimes called the "silent killer."  You don't
even know that something is trying to kill you because you can't
smell carbon monoxide and it doesn't make noise.  You just get
drowsy and then go to sleep; in some cases permanently!  Carbon
monoxide kills by asphyxiation; the victim suffocates when the
oxygen in the blood is displaced by carbon monoxide.  It is one of
the most widespread and insidiously dangerous industrial hazards. 
The acute effects of exposure to carbon monoxide include: 
headache, dizziness, tiredness, nausea and the inability to
concentrate.  By the time you recognize that there is a problem,
the overexposure has occurred.

Carbon monoxide interferes with the capacity of the blood to carry
oxygen.  When carbon monoxide is present in the lungs, hemoglobin,
which normally carries oxygen in the blood, will tend to bypass
oxygen molecules and pick up carbon monoxide molecules instead. 
Carbon monoxide is 240 times more likely to combine with hemoglobin
than oxygen.  This means that even in an oxygen-rich atmosphere,
the presence of elevated levels of carbon monoxide can lead to
carbon monoxide poisoning.

Long term exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide may reduce the
ability to engage in strenuous exercise, impair psychomotor
functions, disrupt development of the fetus and aggravate heart and
lung disease.  At high concentrations, victims may suffer
convulsions, coma and even death.  The effects of exposure to
carbon monoxide are generally more severe for smokers than they are
for non-smokers.  Smokers have a higher baseline level of carbon
monoxide in their blood, which reduces their blood's oxygen-
carrying capacity.


HOW DOES CARBON MONOXIDE CREEP INTO YOUR HOME OR WORK
PLACE, THREATENING YOU WITH SICKNESS AND POSSIBLE DEATH?

Furnaces and other major appliances may not be adjusted properly
and burn too much fuel, thereby creating a carbon monoxide buildup. 
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a potential danger in a wide variety
of industries.  The most likely source of carbon monoxide is from
the internal combustion engine.  Industrial truck drivers,
warehouse workers, and automotive garage mechanics are all
potentially exposed to toxic levels of carbon monoxide.  If you
notice that you're dizzy, weak, or your head hurts every time
you're around a particular appliance or are in a specific part of
your home or work area, you may be experiencing the first symptoms
of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Have a professional periodically
check your furnace and major appliances to ensure they're adjusted
properly.

Ventilation devices such as fireplace chimneys, furnace or water
heater flues, or stovepipes may be plugged or damaged.  The cause
may be vines or leaves which block the outlet and make the carbon
monoxide back up into the building, loose bricks and mortar, or
holes caused by rust, thus leaving places for carbon monoxide to
creep through.  Clean ventilation devices at least once a year.

Small fuel-burning heaters, which frequently are unvented, should
not be used in rooms without ventilation.  Open a window for
ventilation (one inch or more) and use the correct fuel for the
heater.

The gaskets on propane refrigerators may be worn so the
refrigerator runs constantly to "catch up" and pumps carbon
monoxide into the atmosphere.  Have a professional check this type
of equipment periodically to ensure it's burning fuel efficiently
and that the door gaskets are in good condition.

While working on the car in the garage, the home mechanic may run
the car without opening the main garage door.  Or, on a frosty
morning, drivers warm up the car in a closed garage.  The person
sitting in the car may be the first to go because the carbon
monoxide surrounds them quicker than the people in the house.  If
the car continues to run inside the closed garage, the people in
the house can be severely affected.  Open the garage door and back
the car out of the garage at least halfway.  That way the exhaust
fumes will go out into the atmosphere rather than into the house.

Because of a broken furnace, residents frequently turn on the gas
oven and open the oven door to heat part of the house.  Much more
fuel than intended burns and carbon monoxide builds up.  Use the
proper equipment for the intended job.  Remember, the oven heats
food - a portable heater (with proper ventilation) heats a room.

Wanting to barbecue when it's too cold or snowy outside, residents
may fire up the charcoal grill inside the closed garage.  Soon
everybody is sleepy or feels sick and no one is interested in food. 
If you're going to use the barbecue in the garage, position it
close to the fully opened garage door.  You may have to wear a
coat, but you won't poison your family.

If all members of your family wake up with headaches every morning,
you may have a problem beginning and you should track down the
cause before it becomes life-threatening.

At work (and at home) the most effective ways to keep carbon
monoxide concentrations within the 35 parts per million, eight-hour
time-weighted average permissible exposure limit set by Cal/OSHA
are:

    Ensure adequate ventilation of the work area.

    Substitute non-carbon monoxide producing equipment where
     possible.

    When the source of contamination is localized, enclosing the
     operation and using local exhaust ventilation, if it is
     properly designed, is recommended as a primary control method.

    In some cases such as garages, the ventilation system can be
     connected to a monitoring device which will increase the
     ventilation as needed to control the carbon monoxide
     concentration.

    Catalytic converters may be used on some of the vehicles used
     indoors (refer to Cal/OSHA General Industry Safety Order 5146
     for requirements and limitations).

    On vehicles such as forklifts which are used routinely
     indoors, extend exhaust stacks above the highest loading area.

    In some instances, it may be most feasible to isolate the
     worker from the source of carbon monoxide, perhaps through the
     use of ventilation ductwork.

If there is a possibility of that the 35 parts per million limit
may be exceeded where adequate ventilation is not feasible,
appropriate respiratory protection and medical evaluation must be
provided to workers.  


IN YOUR VEHICLE:


Perhaps there's a hole in your muffler or tail pipe but you don't
have the funds to get it fixed.  "No problem," you say.  Wrong -
you may have big problems!  When you're in a traffic jam, you get
a headache.  It's from tension - right?  Wait a minute - your car
produces carbon monoxide and it goes out of your car through the
tail pipe.  When you're sitting in traffic, all that carbon
monoxide pours out of multiple tailpipes around you and that may be
the reason for your headache.  If your muffler or tailpipe has
holes, where does that carbon monoxide go?  Some of it goes into
the outside atmosphere, but a lot of it goes into your car.  If the
car underbody has rust holes, you can be sure that the majority of
the carbon monoxide gets into the car.  A passenger in the back
seat may go to sleep - forever!

The carbon monoxide concentration may not be enough to kill you
but, if you're driving, can be the indirect cause of an accident. 
It makes your brain "fuzzy" and slows down your reactions.  So how
do you ensure you won't have a carbon monoxide problem?  Have your
exhaust system checked every so often, even if you have a new car. 
If something is wrong with your exhaust system, you may hear clangs
and bangs, but just as often you won't know anything's wrong.

If you have a station wagon, don't drive with the tailgate window
down.  Exhaust gases may get pulled into the passenger compartment
in large quantities.  Leave one side window down slightly at all
times when driving.  This keeps carbon monoxide from building up
inside the car.

I'm sure you've heard this one before; "Don't sit in a parked car
with the engine running in cold weather.  If you're waiting for
someone, the best thing to do is turn off the car and go inside the
building to wait."

What if you get caught in a storm and the only way to stay warm is
to stay inside the car and run the car engine and the heater?  If
it's snowing, periodically check the tailpipe to ensure it doesn't
get plugged with drifted snow.  In all instances, run the engine
intermittently for a few minutes at a time and keep the windows
down a few inches.  After the interior warms slightly, turn off the
engine and cover up with coats, blankets, etc. to retain warmth. 
Whatever you do, don't go to sleep in a parked car with the engine
running.  If you do, you may never know when the car runs out of
gas because the "silent killer" got there first.

