Officials fear rise in monoxide poisonings

‘I think we're going to see more of it’
That kind of attitude troubles experts such as Dr. David Dabell, a hyperbaric physician at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. The hospital treated dozens of victims of a 2006 outbreak of carbon monoxide poisonings that sickened more than 300 people and killed eight after a severe windstorm.

Public education campaigns have reduced incidents since then, but this winter may be different, he said.

“It’s always a worry going forward,” said Dabell. “The combination of a poor economy and bad weather is a predisposing factor for carbon monoxide poisoning. I think we’re going to see more of it this year.”

The problem, Dabell explained, is that many people don’t realize how dangerous carbon monoxide can be.

Carbon monoxide harms people by blocking oxygen from getting into the blood. The gas molecules bind more quickly than oxygen to hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells, effectively smothering vital organs such as the heart and brain. Dabell said he’s seen cases where people come in with hemoglobin saturation of 40 percent carbon monoxide, compared to normal levels of about 2 percent.

The level becomes dangerous at about 25 percent, Dabell said. In mild cases, victims might suffer flu-like symptoms of headache, dizziness and nausea. But the poisoning can quickly lead to unconsciousness, neurological problems, coma, heart and breathing failure — and death.

Nearly three-quarters of carbon monoxide poisonings occur in homes and more than 40 percent occur in winter, according to the CDC. 

On average, the nation posts 110 carbon monoxide poisonings a day in December, 96 a day in January and 76 each day in February.

‘A preventable exposure’
“We rank the problem of carbon monoxide poisonings as quite high because it’s a preventable exposure,” said Fuyuen Yip, an epidemiologist with the CDC’s division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects.

But prevention depends on a combination of awareness and action that may elude the population most at risk. Recent immigrants, those who don’t speak English and the desperately poor may not know or fully understand the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, experts said.

Becky Mullins runs an overnight shelter for homeless families in Portland, Ore., operated by the social service agency Human Solutions. She frequently works with families who resort to dangerous sources of heat when they can’t pay their utility bills.

“I’ve seen everything from propane tanks in the house to burning trash,” she said. “I’ve seen extension cords run from other houses. People get pretty MacGyver-ish.”

‘I don't think we understood it could be that bad’
One family, Ryan James, 29, and his partner, Rachel Johnson, 22, warmed their three kids, the youngest of whom is 2 months old, by putting them in a truck with the engine running or using a propane-powered heater indoors. 

“I don’t think we understood it could be that bad,” said James, known as R.J., who is looking for work to pay for a safe place to live. “It was a way to keep the house warm.”

In most states, customers who can’t pay their power bills are protected from shutoffs under certain circumstances, such as when the weather is expected to be severe or when someone in the household is disabled, ill or has a life-threatening condition.

Many utilities offer arrangements that include year-round payment plans or deferred billing. DTE Energy in Detroit makes every effort to keep clients connected during winter months and beyond, Singer, the spokesman said.

But the rules can be complicated and most states and utilities frown on repeat nonpayments. For most people, avoiding shutoffs means applying for emergency assistance through social service agencies.

Resolving the problem of the nation’s need for energy assistance is a tall order. Congress doubled allocations for energy help to $5.1 billion, but that still won’t be enough, Wolfe said.

In the meantime, health and safety officials hope small steps will help decrease carbon monoxide injuries and deaths. On Jan. 1, Georgia became the 16^th state with laws requiring carbon monoxide detectors. Most recent CDC statistics showed that the detectors were present and activated in less than 18 percent of exposures.

“They call this the silent killer with the audible solution,” Lavonas, of the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, said.

But the real push has got to be to raise awareness, so that even hard-to-reach groups understand the danger of the potentially deadly gas, he added.

“We’ve got to make people stop doing things that will kill them and their families,” Lavonas said.

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