More than 200 people in the United States die every year from carbon monoxide released by non-automotive consumer products, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The gas has no color and no smell, which is why furnaces, portable generators, ranges, fireplaces and charcoal fires can kill people who never realize anything is wrong.
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Heating season is the dangerous part of the calendar. The agency’s data show that more than half of these deaths happen in November, December, January and February, which makes the weeks around now the right time to check the alarms already installed in a home and the appliances that burn fuel.
Generators, heaters and other sources of CO deaths
CPSC’s 2023 news release on rising carbon monoxide fatalities described an upward trend and an estimated 250 non-fire deaths tied to consumer products in 2019, more than in any other year of the report. Since 2009, portable generators had been linked to an estimated 765 deaths, about 40 percent of such deaths, and heating systems were second in 2019 with an estimated 69, or 28 percent. The agency called the gas the invisible killer because it is colorless and odorless and can kill in minutes.
The CPSC carbon monoxide fact sheet states that the gas forms when fuels such as coal, wood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane and natural gas burn incompletely, and that engine-powered equipment such as generators, cars, lawn mowers and power washers produces it too. Generators were linked to 92 deaths in 2020, the highest of any single product category, and portable heaters to 33.
A later agency report, Non-Fire Carbon Monoxide Deaths Associated with the Use of Consumer Products, 2021 Annual Estimates, puts the 2021 total at an estimated 204 deaths. Generators accounted for about 102 of them, or 50 percent, and heating systems for 63, or 31 percent. Across 2011 through 2021, generators were tied to 858 deaths, 42 percent of the total. The report cautions that data for 2018 through 2021 are only partly complete, because some states have submitted few or no death certificates.
Most of the deaths happen at home. Over 2019 through 2021, home locations averaged 176 deaths a year, about 78 percent of the total, and males made up roughly three quarters of victims. Adults 45 and older averaged about 71 to 72 percent of deaths, while children under 15 averaged about 4 percent.
Recognizing the danger and placing alarms
The fact sheet says low to moderate exposure causes headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness, which resemble the flu except for the absence of fever. A slow leak can therefore be mistaken for an illness. Rapid, high-level exposure, such as a generator run indoors, can cause confusion and loss of muscle control with no earlier warning. Sustained levels of 150 to 200 parts per million or more can bring disorientation, unconsciousness and death.
CPSC advises installing battery-operated alarms, or alarms with battery backup, on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, and it says interconnected alarms are best because when one sounds, all of them sound. Alarms should meet the UL 2034 safety standard. The agency does not recommend placing them in kitchens or directly above fuel-burning appliances, and it advises keeping them away from heating vents and from spots where furniture or draperies could cover them.
The test button checks whether the circuitry works, not whether the sensor is accurate, so each alarm’s recommended replacement age matters. Newer models carry an end-of-life signal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its carbon monoxide key facts, advises replacing detectors per the manufacturer’s instructions or every five years, and notes that sleeping or intoxicated people can die before showing symptoms.
Habits that keep the gas out
Both agencies point to the same short list. Have heating systems inspected and serviced every year, including chimneys and flues. Never run a portable generator or gasoline-powered tool in or near an enclosed space, since open doors and windows do not make a garage or house safe. Never burn charcoal indoors, in a garage, in a vehicle or in a tent. Never leave a car running in an attached garage, even with the door open, and do not use ranges, ovens or clothes dryers to heat a home. CDC adds that generators belong outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents.
If an alarm sounds, CPSC says not to hunt for the source. Everyone should get outside to fresh air, call 911 or the fire department, and count heads. Nobody should re-enter until emergency responders say it is safe. If symptoms appear and no alarm has sounded, the guidance is the same: get outside, see a doctor promptly and say that carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected.
The scale of the problem extends past the deaths. CPSC notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates several thousand emergency room visits a year for CO poisoning, and CDC puts non-fire unintentional deaths from all sources above 400 a year, with more than 100,000 emergency department visits and more than 14,000 hospitalizations. A product that malfunctions or is misused can be reported at SaferProducts.gov.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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