Odorless. Colorless. With few to no warning signs, carbon monoxide is a danger that everyone needs to look out for -- in your home or in your barn.
When carbon monoxide levels are high enough to cause harm, you may not even realize what’s happening. This gas interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen and can result in death or lasting organ damage.
“High levels of carbon monoxide are dangerous for everyone,” says Mitch Ricketts, an agriculture safety and health professor at Kansas State University.
Even low levels of the gas can be hazardous for children, the elderly, unborn babies and people with heart conditions, he says in a K-State release.
“Respiratory hazards are among the most dangerous of all hazards found in pork production facilities. While people and animals can live days without food and water, they can survive only seconds without air. Preventing exposure to respiratory hazards is extremely important for both employees and employers,” according to the Pork Information Gateway’s Respiratory Hazards sheet.
Carbon monoxide is usually produced by fuel-burning appliance being used indoors. This includes small equipment such as lawn mowers, power washers, heaters and generators, but also automobiles, tractors, combines, skid-steer loaders and forklifts.
“Carbon monoxide levels are dangerous even if they are low enough to not displace oxygen,” Ricketts says. “A carbon monoxide detector is the only way to know when levels are dangerous.”
Warning Signs
In high concentrations of carbon monoxide, it can take fewer than five minutes to get carbon monoxide poisoning. Under lower concentrations, it can take an hour to two hours to cause poisoning, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Early warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning may include:
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Nausea
- Sleepiness
- Fainting (loss of consciousness)
- Mental Confusion
- Tightness or pain in the chest
If you are exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, seek a doctor immediately. If a person collapses and carbon monoxide is suspected, call 911.
Treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning is breathing in pure oxygen, the Cleveland Clinic shares. A healthcare provider will give you an oxygen mask to breathe through. This will offset the carbon monoxide buildup in your body.
Ricketts says that to protect yourself and others, proper maintenance of equipment and providing outdoor venting can reduce risk. Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed if fuel-burning equipment is used indoors to prevent hazardous exposure.
