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Carbon Monoxide Incident is Stark Lesson for College-Bound

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 August 2007, 09:17 CDT

By Andrea Stone

The carbon monoxide leak that sickened nearly two dozen Virginia Tech students and others in an off-campus apartment building Sunday serves as a cautionary reminder to others going to college this fall.

"I would say to parents that they should make sure they know all the safety parameters of where their kids are staying," says Hal Stratton, former chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "Make sure it's state of the art on carbon monoxide protection."

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is produced when fuel is burned.

It can cause sickness, even death, if not properly vented. In buildings, it can leak from water heaters, furnaces and other appliances.

A malfunctioning water heater was blamed for Sunday's incident. The same kind of appliance was linked to the death last summer of a man staying with a church group in a dormitory at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. In that incident, more than 100 others became sick.

About 500 people die each year from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 15,000 suffer poisoning symptoms that include dizziness, mental confusion, nausea and fainting.

The American College of Emergency Physicians advises parents of college students to ask dorm officials or off-campus landlords whether residences are equipped with working CO alarms. If they aren't, students can install an alarm near their sleeping areas.

The Environmental Protection Agency warns against using gas-powered generators, charcoal grills and lanterns indoors and says that heating systems, water heaters and fuel-burning appliances should be inspected and serviced annually. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

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