What Should You Know About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Trucking?
Truck drivers are becoming more aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Although heavy-duty vehicles such as trucks and buses account for a small percentage of vehicles on the road, they are said to emit the most CO2, which contributes to air pollution.
What Causes Carbon Monoxide Emission?
Carbon monoxide is a deadly and toxic gas that can be released by any vehicle that runs on carbon-based or fossil-based fuel. Some of the causes of carbon monoxide emissions include:. If the exhaust system malfunctions. If a fuel-burning heater is used for assistance within the vehicle.
Health Effects of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide has a variety of health effects, including the following: If inhaled in large amounts, it can cause unconsciousness or death; if inhaled for a long time, it can cause heart diseases.
Preventing Carbon Monoxide Exposure
According to the US National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health, a carbon monoxide detector or monitor is a simple way to protect yourself and your family from being poisoned by the toxic fumes of truck driving. Carbon monoxide detectors or monitors raise an alarm when emissions are too high.
Steps to Take if You Are Exposed
If your carbon monoxide detector sounds an alarm, pull over to the side of the road and exit immediately; do not return to the truck. A higher dose of carbon monoxide can render you unconscious.
Can you get carbon monoxide poisoning in a semi truck?
Workers exposed to gasoline, diesel, or other fossil fuel-powered buses, locomotives, trucks, cars, forklifts, compressors, and other equipment may be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
What are the 3 most common causes for carbon monoxide poisoning?
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be caused by a variety of sources, including automobiles, fireplaces, powerboats, wood stoves, kerosene space heaters, charcoal grills, and gas appliances such as water heaters, ovens, and dryers.
What is a common cause of carbon monoxide build up in a motor vehicle?
Every year, have your car or truck’s exhaust system inspected by a mechanic; even a small leak in the exhaust system can cause CO to build up inside the vehicle.
What causes carbon monoxide in a trailer?
Carbon monoxide can build up in enclosed, semi-enclosed, or poorly-ventilated spaces, poisoning people and animals who breathe it. Built-in or portable generators, gas-powered heaters, gas ranges or ovens, portable camp stoves, and gas water heaters are examples of items that emit carbon monoxide in campers and RVs.
Do diesel trucks emit carbon monoxide?
Is carbon monoxide a problem with diesel engines? Generally speaking, no, although any engine, including diesel, produces CO when combustion is incomplete. Diesel (compression ignition) engines run with an excess of air and produce less than 1200 ppm CO.
Does diesel cars give off carbon monoxide?
Carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen are the primary products of petroleum fuel combustion in air; for example, diesel engines produce one-eighth the carbon monoxide produced by gasoline engines because they burn their fuel in excess air even at full load.
How long does it take to show signs of carbon monoxide poisoning?
Signs of poisoning may appear within 1-2 hours if the carbon monoxide concentration in the air is much higher, and a very high carbon monoxide concentration can even kill an exposed individual within 5 minutes.
Can low levels of carbon monoxide make you sick?
Low levels of CO exposure cause symptoms that are similar to flu or food poisoning: mild headache, nausea, and shortness of breath.
What is the most common cause of carbon monoxide poisoning?
The most common causes of accidental carbon monoxide exposure are incorrectly installed, poorly maintained, or poorly ventilated household appliances such as cookers, heaters, and central heating boilers.
What gives off carbon monoxide in your home?
CO poisoning can be caused by household appliances such as gas fires, boilers, central heating systems, water heaters, cookers, and open fires that use gas, oil, coal, or wood. CO poisoning can also be caused by fumes from certain paint removers and cleaning fluids.
How long does it take for carbon monoxide to affect your body?
Carbon monoxide kills in less than five minutes at high concentrations, but takes longer to affect the body at low concentrations. Exceeding the EPA concentration of 9 ppm for more than eight hours is suspected to cause adverse health effects in people at risk.
How do you check for carbon monoxide without a detector?
Where to look for carbon monoxide leaks
- Brownish or yellowish stains around appliances.
- Frequent outages of the pilot light.
- Burner flame appears yellow instead of clear blue (exception: natural gas fireplaces)
- No upward draft in chimney flue.
- Stale-smelling air.
- Soot, smoke, or back-draft inside the home.
What does carbon monoxide smell like?
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that you can’t see or smell, but it’s extremely dangerous to your health and can even kill you.
Will a carbon monoxide alarm keep going off?
It’s important to test your carbon monoxide alarms on a regular basis, but it’s recommended that you do so at least once a month. If your carbon monoxide alarm has replaceable batteries, they should be replaced at least every 6 months, because carbon monoxide alarms don’t last forever.
What causes the carbon monoxide alarm to go off in a camper?
It is the result of incomplete combustion from sources such as furnaces, stoves, water heaters, propane refrigerators, engine and generator exhausts, and so on. Because humans do not emit carbon monoxide during respiration, it cannot be the source of the alarm.