Carbon Monoxide Detector Standards Tightened

(HIT) - An increasing number of false alarms triggered by household carbon monoxide detectors have imposed significant burdens on emergency response personnel in recent years. In most (90 percent) of the carbon monoxide calls reported to utilities and fire departments, no carbon monoxide or carbon monoxide levels too low to affect the average person were found, according to the American Gas Association (AGA) and the Gas Research Institute, which conducted the study.

In response, a respected laboratory that certifies natural gas appliances—International Approval Service, formerly the AGA Laboratories—tightened its standards for testing and certifying new carbon monoxide detectors. Before these carbon monoxide detectors can bear the AGA Blue Star seal, they must meet several new requirements.

New IAS-certified carbon monoxide detectors will not sound if the level of CO detected is only at a "nuisance" level, which can be caused by a car starting up in an attached garage or by elevated outdoor levels of CO. In addition, instructions will clearly tell consumers who hear an alarm to evacuate the premises and call an emergency response unit. These improvements to carbon monoxide detectors should raise consumers’ confidence in the reliability of carbon monoxide alarms and prevent human and economic resources from being wasted on false alarms, the testing facility believes.

According to National Safety Council statistics, consumers are more likely to die from a falling object, drowning in a bathtub or inhaling or ingesting food than from CO poisoning. Nonetheless, AGA emphasizes that consumers should help prevent CO incidents in the home by ensuring that home appliances and equipment are installed, maintained and used properly. An annual inspection of heating equipment and venting by a qualified technician is recommended, AGA says, with installation of a carbon monoxide detector as an additional safeguard.

Courtesy: Home Improvement News and Information Center