With the cold and the heat turned back on, a silent killer can enter homes. Carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas produced during the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials (natural gas, wood, coal, butane, gasoline, fuel oil, petroleum, propane), causes 3,000 to 4,000 victims a year in France, mainly from October to April, when the heating installations are turned on. In total, about a hundred people die every year from this cause.
“The current weather may cause a spike, as snowfall can cause power outages, forcing people to use generators, sometimes poorly installed, inside homes, and not outside as recommended.”warns Agnès Verrier, head of environmental health prevention at Public Health France. Caution is advised as Storm Caetano brings the first early winter period of the season, bringing strong winds and snow through Friday, November 22. The local press has been reporting for several days several cases of poisoning throughout France.
Instead of carbon dioxide (CO), carbon monoxide is formed, which does not occur naturally in the atmosphere.2) during incomplete combustion, that is, when a combustion source is not sufficiently oxygenated. This happens when a combustion appliance is not properly installed, maintained or vented.
Boilers especially
In homes, these are wood, coal, gas or diesel boilers, gas water heaters, fireplaces or stoves, but also installations not connected to each other, such as gas stoves, braziers or barbecues, decorative ethanol fireplaces, generators , vehicles or DIY machines in garages. “In 60% of cases it is a boiler, especially gas, then come wood or pellet stoves”explains Marie Deguigne, toxicological pharmacist and assistant at the poison control center at Angers University Hospital.
Hence the importance of having the heating installations checked and maintained by a qualified professional every year before winter, but also of ventilating the house every day for at least ten minutes and never blocking the ventilation systems.
When carbon monoxide diffuses into a poorly ventilated room, it gradually replaces oxygen, even in the body, where this gas binds to hemoglobin instead of oxygen. This is when acute poisoning occurs, the first symptoms of which are not necessarily specific: headaches, dizziness, nausea. Then comes vomiting and muscle weakness, especially in the legs, which can lead to coma and death in case of strong and prolonged exposure. “What should cause alarm is when several people experience the same symptoms at the same time”underlines Marie Deguigne.
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