Sources of carbon monoxide that caused multiple low-level poisonings (chronic CO poisoning)
Sources of carbon monoxide are everywhere. So are the circumstances that can cause carbon monoxide levels to rise.
There are massively more chronic carbon
monoxide poisonings than are recognised or diagnosed.
Furnaces and gas appliances are sources of carbon monoxide:
- An old fireplace has hairline cracks within the chimney. The home owners are unaware of the problem. Carbon
monoxide spills into the home for many years under certain
conditions. All in the house experience a wide variety of incorrectly diagnosed health issues typical of multiple low level
exposure to CO gas. They all struggle with their health and it is only when a new gas fireplace is
installed does the contractor alert them to the problem and educates them about the dangers of CO
poisoning.
- A bird gets into a chimney, builds a partial nest, and then abandons it. This restricts the exhaust gases
and causes carbon monoxide to spill into the home under certain conditions.
- A couple keeps their bedroom window slightly open all year round for ventilation and their ceiling fan on
for good circulation. They both develop a range of unexplained health issues (symptoms typical of multiple low level CO
poisoning). One cold winter evening they both get extremely sick. They visit the emergency room and an
alert physician diagnoses them with CO poisoning. On investigation they learn that their furnace was improperly
installed and was prone to venting carbon monoxide into their home under certain conditions. Air naturally flows from warm to cold. When
their furnace vented CO into the home, it mixed with air and flowed through the home to the bedroom, and then
was circulated by the ceiling fan before exiting out the window. Keeping their bedroom window open and the
ceiling fan on actually exposed them to carbon monoxide as it left the building.
- Another source of carbon monoxide: an improperly installed furnace with an under-sized gas supply line.
This caused the furnace flame to burn at a lower-than-optimum temperature. This prevented the furnace from
creating the proper flame temperature at the burner and exhaust gases were unable to rise properly up the
chimney under certain conditions.
- A furnace is installed with an improperly insulated chimney. Exhaust gases rising up the chimney do not
stay warm enough to create the proper updraft and the exhaust gases are unable to rise under certain conditions (especially on cold nights).
- A furnace is improperly installed with an undersized (or no) fresh-air inlet into the furnace room. This
inlet is designed to let fresh air into the building to offset the amount of air exhaust gases rising up the
chimney. The furnace exhaust gases vent back into the building under certain conditions.
- A single man lives and works from his home in a condominium. Over an 8 year period his health declines to
the point he is unable to work or function. After visiting many doctors and alternative healing providers he is
burdened with huge costs, many misdiagnosis, and has been unable to find treatments to give him relief. His
health continues to decline and is in ruins. Upon the sale of his home, a mandatory building inspection reveals
a low level carbon monoxide leak entering his home from the mechanical room in the unit below. As he lived and
worked in the same location, his body was continually burdened by higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide in his system.
- A healthy young couple buy their first home - a fixer-upper. The home needs a new furnace. They get four
quotations, one of which is less than half the price of the other quotations. They have the furnace installed
by the low bidder. Over the course of the following 4 years they both have a range of health problems. She has
four miscarriages, is troubled by extreme mood swings, and becomes excessively impulsive. He is plagued by
brain fog, chemical sensitivities and is chronically exhausted. On a cold winter night they both get brutal
headaches and severely sickened. A friend unexpectedly drops by and
sees they are acting strangely. She insists on taking them to the emergency department and they are found to
have carbon monoxide poisoning. Upon
investigation it comes to light that the contractor had not obtained an installation permit or installed the
furnace to code. It had been malfunctioning since installation.
- An interesting twist on this source of carbon monoxide: A family living in an older home all seem to sense
there is, at times, a "presence" in their home. They are not superstitious and have never seen or heard
anything unusual however, at times they feel like someone or something is "watching" them. A neighbor
communicates that the previous owners had thought there was a ghost in the house. The home is upgraded and all
remnants of the older heating and venting systems are removed. The contractor revealed that the old heating
system was likely leaking carbon monoxide into the home under certain conditions but he had no way to test this as the system
had been removed. No one in the home has sensed a "presence" since the work was completed.
Vehicles are sources of carbon monoxide:
- A person commutes to and from work for years not knowing that the vehicle has a small leak in the exhaust
system. Exhaust, carbon monoxide, and other toxic agents seep into his vehicle twice a day during his commute.
His health declines to the point that he can no longer work and he is forced to sell his vehicle. A prepurchase
vehicle inpsection done by the new buyer reveals the leak in the exhaust system.
There is no shortage of sources of carbon monoxide gas in
the modern world (or in times gone by).
Our lives are packed with potential sources of carbon monoxide and an endless number of circumstances that can
make carbon monoxide levels rise and cause multiple
low-level poisonings (chronic CO poisoning).
Some occupations are at higher risk of
poisoning as different jobs involve being around sources of carbon monoxide.
Over time, a survivor of multiple low-level carbon monoxide poisoning may find that other symptoms reveal themselves.
For every survivor there is healing journey that must be travelled on the road ahead.
Survivors that have had multiple lowlevel poisonings often face a long hard journey on their road to carbon monoxide
recovery. Their life may never be the same.
Return to Carbon monoxide sources or top of Sources of carbon monoxide that caused multiple
low-level poisonings (chronic CO poisoning)
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