Carbon Monoxide Exposure a Threat in California Homes During Heating Season; Accounts for 700 Injuries and Hospitalizations Each Year

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As the heating season begins, owners of multi-family homes in California have an added reason to make sure carbon monoxide (CO) detectors are installed in their properties: the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act, which requires multi-family homes to install carbon monoxide detectors within the home by January 1, 2013.

A recent study found that in California only one in ten homes have CO detectors and nationally, only 34 percent of homes have carbon monoxide detectors installed. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 20,000 people visit the emergency room and 500 die every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning. In California, officials estimate that CO poisoning accounts for nearly 700 avoidable injuries and hospitalizations each year.

As the heating season approaches, the risk of exposure to carbon monoxide is heightened because of increased use of furnaces, space heaters, unvented space and kerosene heaters, gas water heaters and wood stoves and fireplaces. When appliances that burn fuel are not in good working condition or properly vented, or used incorrectly, they release a colorless, odorless gas that in high levels can kill in minutes and is undetectable without an alarm.

The requirement for CO detector installation for single-family homes went into effect July, 2011.