As we head into cold days and nights and think about the comfort of heating, this week is Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week. Time to
check that appliances you are using at
home are
well maintained and operating safely. For those travelling, don’t be tempted to use any unflued heating in your caravan or camper, nor ideas bandied around like an upturned flowerpot over a gas burner.
Some common products that can emit carbon monoxide when you use them are:
Barbeques that use wood, charcoal or gas
Fireplaces that use wood, charcoal or gas
Portable cookers that use gas or kerosene
Portable and/or outdoor heaters that use gas or kerosene
Flued gas heaters (under certain conditions)
Electrical generators that are diesel or petrol powered
Electrical equipment that is diesel or petrol powered (such as pumps, chainsaws, blowers and welders).
From
Product Safety
At higher levels, carbon monoxide can kill within minutes. Even if you get fresh air in time to save your life, carbon monoxide can cause strokes, heart attacks, memory loss and personality changes. This brain damage is permanent.
Carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin in our blood in place of the needed oxygen, and does so in preference to the oxygen in the air. This causes blood vessels of the body to leak, especially in the brain causing the brain to swell, leading to unconsciousness and neurological damage.
Source
Carbon Monoxide Kills
Just a few of many examples where unexpected deaths have occurred:
• Last year a man was found dead from using an outdoor gas heater inside a house in Victoria
• A
Sydney man was found dead with head beads by his bed last year
• In 2012 three men died in Tasmania while using a gas fridge in a caravan
• A New Zealand mother and her three children died inside their house from fumes from a car idling in the adjoining garage.
• Barbecue beads were placed in the ‘porch’ of a tent for warmth, and a fourteen year old girl, being nearest to them, died.
• In 2011 a man died during cyclone Yasi while using a generator inside his house.
• In 2010, Chase and Tyler Robinson died from carbon monoxide poisoning from an inadequately serviced gas heater in their rental property. They were only eight and six years old.
The
Chase and Tyler Foundation raises awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning in Australia.
Thousands of people die every year throughout the world due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, most directly resulting from using outdoor heating appliances indoors.
For camping off mains power in really cold weather, either a diesel heater (Webasto, Dometic or Eberspacher or cheaper copies), or installed gas heater (Truma) are the best options for heating your caravan.
You can get 12 volt electric blankets or use a 240 volt one off your inverter to warm the bed, or pull on Explorer or other thick woollen socks, and use a zero rated sleeping bag to keep the warmth you generate close around you.