Carbon Monoxide
What is Carbon Monoxide?..
Carbon monoxide, or “CO,” is an odourless, colourless gas that can kill you. CO in the environment can have a devastating effect on human health. For most of us it would be the most dangerous gas we might ever experience. It is often referred to as the ‘hidden gas’ because it is very hard to detect. However, the effects of CO are quite dramatic and in high concentrations it will kill within a few minutes.
When we breathe, our lungs absorb oxygen. However, CO is absorbed more readily into the blood stream than oxygen and when our haemoglobin, or red blood cells, become saturated with CO, no oxygen can be absorbed. One of the functions of oxygen is to remove waste matter from our tissues, so without oxygen our blood rapidly become poisoned.
What percentage of CO can be harmful and what percentage can kill us?
CO in air - 0.01%
Saturation of CO in blood - 0–15%
Effects of CO in adults - Slight headache after 2–3 hours
CO in air - 0.15% - 0.3%
Saturation of CO in blood - 50–55%- 55-65%
Effects of CO in adults - Severe headache, nausea, and dizziness within 10 minutes; increased breathing and convulsions, leading to collapse, possible death after 15 minutes.
Yellow flames coming out from gas appliances is a sign that your appliance isn't burning correctly and efficiently. Thus, its important to keep your appliance in good health by servicing it regularly.
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