Le CO (monoxyde de carbone)

Le CO (monoxyde de carbone)

Carbon monoxyde gas (CO) : a silent but deadly seasonal killer

CO often kills in the spring and the fall.

Certain conditions increase the risk of CO poisoning

Simple preventive measures

What to do in case of accident ?

Carbon monoxyde gas (CO) : a silent but deadly seasonal killer

What is CO and how is it produced ?

Carbon monoxyde is an insidious and toxic gas

Symptoms of CO poisoning

CO often kills in the spring and the fall.

Certain conditions increase the risk of CO poisoning

Simple preventive measures

What to do in case of accident ?

Carbon monoxyde is
an insidious and toxic gas

Carbon monoxyde (CO) poisoning claims a number of victims every year. More than 1200 cases of poisoning (requiring hospitalisation) were reported in Belgium in 2004, 30 of which were fatal and others which resulted in severe neurological after effects. The student population of ULg is not immune to such tragedies, which is why it is essential that students be informed and their vigilance reinforced so that such acute or chronic incidents can be avoided or their consequences limited.

   What is CO and how is it produced ?
CO is produced by the incomplete combustion (insufficient oxygenation) of organic combustible materials: wood, butane, natural gas, coal, tobacco, petrol, fuel oil, propane. As there may be different heating devices or systems in one dwelling, several sources of CO may be found therein: wood, coal, gas and oil furnaces, water heaters, fireplace inserts, stoves, mobile auxiliary heaters, gas stoves, occasional devices such as braziers, barbecues, car motors left in the garage, etc.

Water heaters are the devices most often involved in domestic CO poisoning. If the appliance is properly used and maintained, the amount of CO produced is generally harmless to your health. However, if a water heater is not working properly or is used in an enclosed or badly ventilated area, it may cause CO poisoning.
The outside air may also be a cause in areas of high density motor traffic (a garage, a parking lot, a busy street).
Carbon monoxyde is
an insidious and toxic gas
Symptoms of CO poisoning
This colourless and odourless gas is difficult to detect, which makes it even more dangerous. It is lighter than air, disperses rapidly in the surrounding air and is inhaled during breathing.
In the blood, hemoglobin's affinity for CO is 200 times greater than for oxygen and Co binds to hemoglobin rapidly, forming carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Not only does hemoglobin transport less oxygen, but it also releases less oxygen in the tissues, provoking significant tissue distress and the rapid asphyxiation of organs: 0.1% CO in the surrounding air kills within one hour, while 1% kills in 15 minutes and 10% provokes immediate death.
They are not very clear! As soon as the COHb level reaches 5%, certain effects may be visible in the nervous system and cardiac and respiratory changes may occur. In the case of an acute incident, loss of consciousness may occur very suddenly.

Headaches, blurred vision, and having difficulty focusing are the first symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness and fainting occur when the level of COCHb is greater than 15%. Higher doses provoke convulsions and coma. Sleep and memory disorders, as well as chest, muscle and abdominal pains have been described upon chronic exposure.
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Make sure that your combustion devices work properly and are maintained on a regular basis.

Have your chimney and gas ventilation shafts cleaned out at least once a year.

Make sure that the rooms where your combustion installations are located are properly ventilated by keeping the ventilation openings unclogged.

Remember that expelled air can be measured with a carboxymeter.

Butane, propane, or kerosene mobile heaters should only be used occasionally and only in ventilated rooms.

Never heat with a camping heater designed for outside use or by leaving the door of your gas or wood stove open.

Clean the burners of your gas stove regularly. If they are clogged, the gas and air will not mix properly and the burner may go out, especially if it is put on low flame. A well- regulated flame is one that does not blacken the bottom of your pots.

Make sure that your combustion devices work properly and are maintained on a regular basis.

Have your chimney and gas ventilation shafts cleaned out at least once a year.

Make sure that the rooms where your combustion installations are located are properly ventilated by keeping the ventilation openings unclogged.

Remember that expelled air can be measured with a carboxymeter.

Butane, propane, or kerosene mobile heaters should only be used occasionally and only in ventilated rooms.

Never heat with a camping heater designed for outside use or by leaving the door of your gas or wood stove open.

Clean the burners of your gas stove regularly. If they are clogged, the gas and air will not mix properly and the burner may go out, especially if it is put on low flame. A well- regulated flame is one that does not blacken the bottom of your pots.

Remove the person from the affected room (be careful not to endanger your own health as CO is colourless and odorless) and move him/her into the fresh air.

Call for help

Perform a cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if the heart has stopped beating.

Air out the room by opening doors and windows.

Cold weather and fog are increased risk factors. Smoke dispersal is poor during these two periods. Indeed, foul air rich in CO disperses only slightly in the atmosphere (if at all) while CO concentrations increase near the CO- releasing source. The quality of a heating device or water heater will not prevent poisoning from occurring if a connection is poor, the chimney is in bad condition, or if there is a downdraught when the temperature rises.
Certaines situations favorisent les intoxications au CO

Inadequate discharge of combustion products (obstructed or ill-sized flue)
No ventilation in the room where combustion takes place (e.g. the use of a barbecue or a brazier in a room from which air cannot escape).
Failure to maintain furnaces and water heaters, inserts, stoves, and auxiliary mobile heaters.


	Carboxyhemoglobin formation is reversible, i.e. may be eliminated via the respiratory pathway, by moving the individual to a healthy environment or by making him/her breathe oxygen, sometimes at high pressure (hyperbaric oxygenotherapy).

	Remove the person from the affected room (be careful not to endanger your own health as CO is colourless and odorless) and move him/her into the fresh air.

	Call for help
	Perform a cardiac massage and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if the heart has stopped beating.
	Air out the room by opening doors and windows.

People suffering from CO poisoning, no matter how slightly, must be taken to hospital and administered oxygen as soon as emergency aid arrives in order to accelerate the elimination of carbon monoxyde. Severely intoxicated patients will be put in a hyperbaric chamber for 90 minutes.

Carbon monoxyde is
an insidious and toxic gas

Symptoms of CO poisoning

This colourless and odourless gas is difficult to detect, which makes it even more dangerous. It is lighter than air, disperses rapidly in the surrounding air and is inhaled during breathing.
In the blood, hemoglobin's affinity for CO is 200 times greater than for oxygen and Co binds to hemoglobin rapidly, forming carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Not only does hemoglobin transport less oxygen, but it also releases less oxygen in the tissues, provoking significant tissue distress and the rapid asphyxiation of organs: 0.1% CO in the surrounding air kills within one hour, while 1% kills in 15 minutes and 10% provokes immediate death.

They are not very clear! As soon as the COHb level reaches 5%, certain effects may be visible in the nervous system and cardiac and respiratory changes may occur. In the case of an acute incident, loss of consciousness may occur very suddenly.

Headaches, blurred vision, and having difficulty focusing are the first symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, dizziness and fainting occur when the level of COCHb is greater than 15%. Higher doses provoke convulsions and coma. Sleep and memory disorders, as well as chest, muscle and abdominal pains have been described upon chronic exposure.