If you do use solvents containing this substance, make sure the area is properly ventilated.A family of seven, including three children, who were found dead earlier this week inside a northwest Minnesota home died of what appears to be accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, police said Wednesday. Use paint strippers that do not contain methylene chloride.Do not run the car or other gasoline-powered engines in a garage, even with the doors open. Check the exhaust system of your car regularly and keep it in good condition.Employers should regularly monitor the workplace. Where exposure is unavoidable, workers should wear CO monitoring badges. In the workplace, make sure there is sufficient ventilation when working around CO sources, such as propane-powered forklifts and space heaters.Do not use unvented space heaters, gas stoves, charcoal grills or Sterno-type fuels as sources of heat.Check them regularly and make sure they are maintained properly. Make sure flues, chimneys and vents are clear of debris and in good working order. Have your gas appliances checked periodically for proper operation and venting.This is especially true during heating season. When unexplained symptoms persist and affect more than one person in a home or workplace where a source of combustion is present, CO poisoning should be considered. If exposure continues, coma, convulsion and death from respiratory arrest can result. Higher levels cause fainting upon exertion, marked confusion and collapse. As the CO level or exposure time increases, symptoms become more severe and additional ones appear: irritability, chest pain, fatigue, diminished judgment, dizziness and dimness of vision. Symptoms of mild to moderate CO poisoning may resemble winter flu or gastroenteritis, particularly in children, and include nausea, lethargy and malaise. The first and most obvious symptom is usually a headache with throbbing temples. Tightness across the forehead, flushed skin and slightly impaired motor skills also may occur. People with pre-existing cardiac conditions who use these products in unventilated spaces risk heart attack and death.Īt low levels, CO exposure causes no obvious symptoms, although people exposed to low CO levels may experience decreased exercise tolerance and shortness of breath during exertion. Using products that contain methylene chloride for more than a few hours can raise CO levels in the blood seven to 25 times normal. Methylene chloride, a solvent in some paints and varnish strippers, is absorbed by the body and changed to CO.Smoke given off by cigarettes also can cause elevated CO levels in both the smoker and nonsmokers who are exposed to the smoke. Fires can raise CO levels in the blood of unprotected persons to 150 times normal in one minute CO poisoning is the most frequent cause of immediate death associated with fire.Culprits can include your home heating system, but also improperly vented or unvented gas appliances, kerosene or propane space heaters, charcoal grills or hibachis, and Sterno-type fuels. Faulty heating equipment accounts for nearly one-third of accidental CO fatalities.Indoor events, such as tractor pulls, car and truck exhibitions, or ice hockey or skating, can expose spectators and participants to elevated CO levels if these areas are not adequately ventilated. People in certain occupations-including highway workers, traffic officers, tunnel workers, professional drivers, toll booth attendants and warehouse workers-are exposed regularly to high levels of the CO. Lethal levels of the gas can occur in as little as 10 minutes in a closed garage.
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