{"id":235047,"date":"2010-01-27T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sacbee.com\/opinion\/story\/2491917.html#mi_rss=Opinion"},"modified":"2010-01-27T03:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T08:00:00","slug":"viewpoints-governor-should-sign-law-on-carbon-monoxide-alarms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/235047","title":{"rendered":"Viewpoints: Governor should sign law on carbon monoxide alarms"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tKevin Nida<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As winter storms pound the state, Californians are alert of the hazards of wet roads, falling trees and power outages. But there is another very real safety risk that accompanies the stormy weather. And it’s a silent threat that catches its victims completely unaware. <\/p>\n

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, and the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the United States. Carbon monoxide has many sources that can be found in California homes including faulty furnaces, generators, gas ranges and stoves, gas clothes dryers, portable heaters, fireplaces, blocked chimneys and wood-burning stoves, just to name a few. In fact, according to U.S. census data, 74 percent of California housing uses some form of fossil fuel-burning heating that can generate carbon monoxide. <\/p>\n

At this time of year, the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning increases. During cold seasonal storms and power outages, more people turn to generators and space heaters to supply heat and electricity to their homes. If not properly used, these appliances can cause CO poisoning. In fact, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, improperly used generators cause more than 15 percent of CO poisoning deaths associated with fuel-powered appliances. <\/p>\n

Sadly, just within the past few days, a Mount Shasta child was killed and 11 other area residents were sent to the hospital due to this type of poisoning. The victims were apparently using a gas generator to heat their home during a storm-related power outage and the appliance was not properly vented. <\/p>\n

Because carbon monoxide has no smell or taste, without a carbon monoxide alarm, most people are left completely unaware of CO exposure. And because the initial symptoms of poisoning are often flu-like, including headache and nausea, victims have no idea that they could be poisoned to death. <\/p>\n

The statistics for carbon monoxide poisoning are disturbing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that carbon monoxide poisoning kills more than 500 people in the United States every year, with most of those deaths occurring in a residential setting. In California, 232 people died of accidental CO poisoning between 2001 and 2006. <\/p>\n

In addition to deaths, carbon monoxide poisoning causes grave and permanent injuries, including severe brain damage.<\/p>\n

In California, the Air Resources Board estimates that CO poisoning accounts for 175-700 avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations, and hundreds to thousands of avoidable illnesses each year. <\/p>\n

In the next few months Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have the opportunity to sign a bill to help protect Californians from carbon monoxide poisoning. Senate Bill 183 calls for the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all single- and multi-dwelling homes in the state – providing the most effective line of defense against this silent killer. At half the cost of the average video game, carbon monoxide alarms are a small investment to help save lives. <\/p>\n

Twenty-three other states have already passed legislation to protect residents by requiring CO alarms in homes. We strongly urge Schwarzenegger to join these states and sign SB 183 to help protect our residents from one more senseless death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kevin Nida As winter storms pound the state, Californians are alert of the hazards of wet roads, falling trees and power outages. But there is another very real safety risk that accompanies the stormy weather. And it’s a silent threat that catches its victims completely unaware. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4325,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-235047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}