Realize the importance of carbon monoxide

There have been two world wars in history, resulting in a total of about 70 million deaths. In this peaceful era, people enjoy the convenience of technology and the relaxation of travel, but they have not yet realized that in this era of advanced technology, people are vaguely experiencing the "third world war". The enemy this time is not human, but It's carbon monoxide - the silent killer.

 

December 5, 1952, was a day that made all Londoners panic. A heavy fog shrouded the entire city of London. Pedestrians walked by touching the walls. Cars drove slowly with their headlights on during the day. All flights were forced to be grounded. A heavy fog made the once lively London city so silent. In addition, 4,000 people died unexpectedly in the five days covered by the heavy fog, and more than 8,000 people died one after another in the next two months. This situation may have been a mystery at the time, but in today's, It is easy for society to explain the truth. That is, with a high concentration of carbon monoxide, 4,000 people died of hypoxia due to breathing difficulties in a short period of time. Although the remaining 8,000 people survived at that time, their body functions and brains were affected by carbon monoxide. In the following days their health got worse and worse, and eventually led to death.

 

Big Smog - Brojensmarthome

 

The London smog event can be said to be the event with the highest number of accidental human deaths after World War II. Since then, more and more people have begun to pay attention to carbon monoxide gas, many companies have begun to put carbon monoxide detector products on the shelves, and many countries represented by the United Kingdom have also introduced laws on carbon monoxide, with the purpose of reducing the incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning as much as possible, thereby reducing mortality.

 

What is carbon monoxide?

 

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas which is produced by Incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials. From chemical formula, it is made up of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. Thats why people also call it as CO. In addition to this, it is also known as the silent killer because people often die of suffocation by inhaling carbon monoxide in their sleep.

 

About CO - Brojensmarthome

 

Why carbon monoxide is dangerous?

 

Since carbon monoxide is diluted by the atmosphere in the environment and easily oxidized by oxygen to carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide has little impact on the environment. It is called a silent killer because when it is inhaled into the body, it will quickly combine with the hemoglobin in the human blood, so that the blood stops delivering oxygen to the brain, lungs, liver and other organs, causing people to unknowingly sleep in their dream, suffocated to death. This is the most dangerous cause of carbon monoxide.

 

While CO in blood - Brojensmarthome

 

Why carbon monoxide is dangerous?

 

Since carbon monoxide is diluted by the atmosphere in the environment and easily oxidized by oxygen to carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide has little impact on the environment. It is called a silent killer because when it is inhaled into the body, it will quickly combine with the hemoglobin in the human blood, so that the blood stops delivering oxygen to the brain, lungs, liver and other organs, causing people to unknowingly sleep in their dream, suffocated to death. This is the most dangerous cause of carbon monoxide.

 

Safe levels of carbon monoxide ppm

 

Concentration

Symptoms

0.1 ppm

Natural level and clean air

1 ppm

Increased rates of

3~7 ppm

Increased rates of asthma

5~6 ppm

Baby weight is low if the pregnant woman is exposed to CO

9 ppm

Affects heart function in patients with coronary artery disease

10 ppm

Death from heart disease and congestive heart failure

15~20 ppm

Reduced motor capacity and alertness

25 ppm

Irreparable brain damage to the fetus

27 ppm

Cardiovascular disease increased by 21%

30 ppm

Earliest oneset of exercise angina attack

35 ppm

Oxygen masks are required

50 ppm

the maximum concentration that healthy adults can bear within 8 hours

70~75 ppm

Heart patients increased pain

100 ppm

Heart and brain damage

200 ppm

2 ~ 3 hours, slight headache and fatigue

400 ppm

Forehead pain within 1 ~ 2 hours; Life threatening after 3 hours

800 ppm

Dizziness, nausea and spasm within 45 minutes; Loss of consciousness within 2 hours; Died within 3 hours

1600 ppm

Headache, dizziness and nausea within 20 minutes; Died within 1 hour

3200 ppm

Headache, dizziness and nausea within 5 ~ 10 minutes; Died within 30 minutes

6400 ppm

Headache, dizziness and nausea within 1 ~ 2 minutes; Died within 10 ~ 15 minutes

12800 ppm

Died within 1 ~ 3 minutes

 

It can be seen from the above table that 50ppm is the highest carbon monoxide concentration that the human body can tolerate, and people can last for 8 hours in a carbon monoxide environment with a concentration of 50ppm. Therefore, 50ppm is classified as a dangerous edge, which can also be called a warning line. The safe carbon monoxide concentration range is no more than 30ppm, which is also the concentration that will not trigger the alarm of carbon monoxide detectors.

 

Highest concentration people can tolerate in 8 hours

 50ppm

Concentration which the detector will not be trigged

 30ppm

 

Dangerous levels of carbon monoxide

 

As mentioned above, carbon monoxide at a concentration of 50 ppm is already the critical value of the dangerous value, which means that a concentration of more than 50 ppm is a dangerous concentration. When the carbon monoxide concentration exceeds 50ppm, people will experience dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, and loss of consciousness, and the alarm will also goes off within 90 minutes. With higher and higher concentrations, people will experience the above symptoms earlier, and even cause people to die within several minutes. This is because high concentrations of carbon monoxide can quickly combine with hemoglobin, causing people to die from extreme hypoxia within 1 hour or even 3 minutes. The above conditions are for healthy adults, but if the elderly or children or sick people are exposed to carbon monoxide, symptoms may be more severe.

 

Concentration

The detector goes off

0~50 ppm

N/A

51~99 ppm

Not activate before 60 minutes but must activate before 90 minutes

100~299 ppm

Not activate before 10 minutes but must activate before 40 minutes

300ppm

Activate within 3 minutes

 

CO exposure limits in UK

 

The World Health Organization states that 9 ppm is the maximum indoor safe carbon monoxide level for 8 hours, as UK is a developed country with heavy industry, the limit for outdoor carbon monoxide concentration is 20~30ppm, and the limit for household and indoor carbon monoxide concentration is not more than 50ppm. This is because a person can be exposed to a carbon monoxide concentration of 50ppm for 8 hours. In addition to this, in 2018, the UK also updated the limits for carbon monoxide concentrations in the workplace: Carbon Monoxide Long Term (8 Hour) Exposure Limit (LTEL) is now 20ppm and the Short Term (15 Min) Exposure Limit (STEL) is now 100ppm.

 

CO limits in UK (8 hours)

Concentration

Maximum indoor safe level

9 ppm

Workplace level

20 ppm

Outdoor level

30 ppm

Household and indoor level

50 ppm

 

Indoor carbon monoxide concentration

 

If you turn on gas equipment such as heaters and boilers at home, and the indoor space is small, the indoor space is more airtight than the outdoors, so high concentrations of carbon monoxide will be generated in a short time. The following are the main sources of carbon monoxide indoors:

 

Equipment for home use

Concentration of carbon monoxide

Gas stoves

5~15ppm

Cigarettes

20 ppm

Kitchen

800ppm

Water heater

1600ppm

Water heater

3200ppm

 

 

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