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As the weather turns colder, consumers need to be aware of an invisible killer that can seep through the home, causing serious injury or death. In Benton Harbor, Mich., three family members were hospitalized due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a malfunctioning furnace or gas water heater. In Salt Lake City, Utah, a man was hospitalized with carbon monoxide poisoning after the furnace in his condominium malfunctioned. These incidents are not old news; they occurred just last month. CO is a colorless, odorless gas that can be produced by burning fuels such as natural gas, propane, oil, kerosene, coal, or wood. Properly installed and operating fuel-burning appliances pose minimal CO hazards. However, under certain conditions, all appliances that burn fuels can leak deadly levels of CO into the home. The initial symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to flu (but without the fever) and include headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and dizziness. Exposure to high levels of CO can cause death. ôEach year, CO poisoning from heating systems, water heaters, and ranges and ovens kills about 80 people in the U.S.,ö said U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Hal Stratton. ôMany of these tragedies could be prevented by having a professional check these appliances annually for proper operation and CO leaks.öá According to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), on average each year, 30-40 Californians die and many more experience flu-like symptoms from accidental CO poisoning.
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More than half of CO poisoning deaths are from malfunctioning or improperly vented combustion appliances. Proper use and maintenance of any appliances that produce a flame such as gas furnaces, gas and propane space heaters and small barbecues, can prevent exposure to lethal levels of CO. Because of the danger from poor ventilation, California law prevents the use of kerosene or propane space heaters, charcoal grills and unvented gas logs indoors. Also gas ovens should not be used for heating the home. These combustion appliances also can emit large amounts of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause respiratory disease, especially in children. The CARB also advises caution when operating cars or other internal combustion engines in enclosed spaces or attached garages. A third of CO poisoning deaths are the result of accidental exposure from vehicles, many due to running them in closed garages.
To help prevent CO poisonings, the CPSC urges consumers to have a professional inspection of all fuel-burning heating systems, including furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, water heaters, space heaters, chimneys, flues, and vents. CPSC recommends that the yearly professional inspection include checking chimneys, flues and vents for leakage, blockage by debris, and to make sure they are not loose or disconnected. Birds, other animals and insects can build nests in vents over spring and summer, resulting in blockages that cause deadly exhaust to enter the home. The inspector should also check appliance operation to ensure proper fuel input rate, gas pressure, and operating temperatures. In addition, the inspector should check appliances for gas leaks and adequate ventilation. A supply of fresh air is important to help carry pollutants up the chimney, stovepipe or flue, and fresh air is necessary for the complete combustion of any fuel. Never block ventilation air openings and check the appliance filter to ensure it is clean. Make sure the appliance is operating on the fuel that it is designed to use. To convert an appliance to burn propane, hire a professional to do the modification. ôCPSC recommends that every home have a CO alarm in the hallway near bedrooms in each sleeping area,ö said Chairman Stratton. ôA CO alarm can wake you up and give you time to save your family.ö The CO alarm should meet one of these standards: Canadian Standards Association 6.19-01, 2001; Underwriters Laboratories Inc. 2034, Second Edition, October 1998; or the International Approval Services 6-96, Second Edition, June 1, 1998. Check batteries monthly and replace them annually. CPSC worked with the furnace and boiler industry and the manufacturers of high-temperature plastic vent (HTPV) pipes to conduct a vent pipe recall program. The program's purpose is to replace, free, an estimated 250,000 HTPV pipe systems attached to gas or propane furnaces or boilers in consumers' homes. The HTPV pipes could crack or separate at the joints and leak CO. Consumers should call the HTPV pipe recall Hotline toll-free at 800-758-3688, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. ET, seven days a week, to verify whether their appliance venting systems are subject to this program. CPSC staff continues to work with the furnace industry and other interested parties to develop new technologies to address the hazards of CO poisoning and fire. Results include a furnace voluntary standard that includes requirements for blocked-vent shut-off devices to protect against blocked vent pipes and chimneys, and vented heater requirements to guard against a vent pipe becoming separated from the furnace. Both conditions could lead to CO poisoning. Although improvements have been made in modern furnaces, they do not protect against all conditions that can lead to CO exposure. All gas-fired furnaces manufactured since 1987 have flame roll-out protection technology that prevents flames from spilling out of the furnace's combustion chamber and starting a fire. Consumers should never use gasoline-powered generators or charcoal grills indoors or in attached garages because of the risk of CO poisoning: opening doors and windows or operating fans cannot supply adequate ventilation and can be deadly. Use a generator outside in a dry area away from doors, windows, and vents that could allow CO to come indoors. Even with a CO alarm, never use a gasoline-powered generator or a charcoal grill inside.
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Decorate Safely for the Holidays-- Holiday Safety Reminders
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Take a few precautions when decorating for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza and other winter festivities to prevent childhood injuries. Barbara Bailey, an injury prevention specialist with Safe Kids Colorado, a program based at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said, "Holiday decorations, especially candles and electrical lighting, can be fire hazards. Lit candles, especially, are dangerous if placed near curtains or drapes, or if left unattended or are placed on a Christmas tree or a natural wreath."
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Bailey advised parents to keep matches and lighters out of a child's reach at all times.
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"Many young children are fascinated with candles and find touching or handling a lit candle irresistible," she warned. In 2002, Bailey said candles started 18,000 home fires in the United States and caused 130 deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
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Bailey stated that decorative lighting should be labeled with the UL seal of approval from Underwriters Labs. "If it's not labeled for outdoor use, don't use it outdoors," she said.
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When decorating a tree, Bailey recommended taking the following precautions to prevent fires: Inspect lights for exposed or frayed wires, loose connections and broken sockets. Do not overload extension cords or outlets or run an electrical cord under a rug.
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Natural Christmas trees always involve some risk of fire. To minimize the risk, get a fresh tree and keep it watered at all times. Do not put the tree near a fireplace, space heater, radiator or heat vent.
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Decorate the tree with children in mind. Place ornaments that have small detachable parts or metal hooks, or ones that look like food or candy, on higher branches where small children cannot reach them. Trim protruding branches at or below a child's eye level, and keep lights out of reach. Do not burn Christmas tree branches, treated wood or wrapping paper in a home fireplace.
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To prevent childhood poisoning, Bailey recommended the following tips:
- áááááááá Keep alcohol, including baking extracts, out of a child's reach and do not leave alcoholic drinks unattended.
- áááááááá Color additives used in fireplace fires are a toxic product and should be stored out of reach. Artificial snow sprays are also harmful if inhaled.
- áááááááá Holly berries, mistletoe berries, poinsettias, amaryllis, boxwood, Christmas rose, Crown of Thorns, English ivy and Jerusalem cherry are all potentially harmful if eaten.
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OSHA Fines Fraser Paper $170,000 for Failing to Record Injuries and Illnesses
OSHA cited Fraser Paper for failing to record numerous injuries and illnesses that occurred at its Madawaska mill between 2003 and 2005. The paper manufacturer faces a total of $170,000 in fines. Acting on an employee complaint, OSHA examined the company's illness and injury logs and other medical data for mill employees from 2003 through 2005. OSHA's inspection found 59 instances where injuries or illnesses were not recorded in the mill's "OSHA 300" illness and injury log; 77 instances where injuries or illnesses were not recorded in the log within seven days; and two years, 2003 and 2004, for which incomplete annual illness and injury summaries were certified as being complete. "The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to keep records of work-related injuries and illnesses," said Anthony Lemire, OSHA's area director for Maine. "No one wins when the records are wrong, but it's the workers who stand to lose the most." Proper recording of injuries and illnesses is the foundation of a workplace safety and health program, noted Lemire. Unrecorded or misrecorded injury and illness information can obscure the types and severity of injuries occurring in a workplace, undermining efforts to prevent them. As a result of this inspection, OSHA issued three willful citations with $165,000 in fines. An additional $5,000 in fines was proposed for three other-than-serious citations for not recording medical injuries and illnesses as restricted duty days or days away from work and not including all incident reports on OSHA 300 logs. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations. On Oct.17, OSHA proposed $90,500 in penalties against Fraser for a total of five willful and serious violations following the April 20 death of a worker in a fall at the mill. Those citations and penalties - for lack of fall protection, safety harness, hazard assessment and warning signs, and failure to identify tank covers as walking and working surfaces - are currently being contested.
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Agricultural Workers at Increased Risk for Animal Flu Viruses
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Farmers, veterinarians and meat processors who routinely come into contact with pigs in their jobs have a markedly increased risk of infection with flu viruses that infect pigs, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While the findings are not entirely unexpected, the strikingly higher risk of infection coupled with the fact that pigs can be infected by swine viruses, bird (avian) viruses as well as human flu viruses -- thereby acting as a virtual virus "mixing bowl," especially on farms where pigs, chickens and people coexist -- is a potential public health concern, the study authors assert. The paper appears online this week in "Clinical Infectious Diseases".
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"Pigs play a role in transmitting influenza virus to humans," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "The worry is that if a pig were to become simultaneously infected with both a human and an avian influenza virus, genes from these viruses could reassemble into a new virus that could be transmitted to and cause disease in people."
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The study results strongly suggest that occupational exposure to pigs significantly increases the risk of developing swine influenza infection. Agricultural workers should, therefore, be considered in developing flu pandemic surveillance plans and antiviral and immunization strategies, according to the study's co-investigator, Gregory C. Gray, M.D., director of the University of Iowa Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases.
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"If migratory birds introduce the H5N1 bird flu virus into swine or poultry populations in this country, agricultural workers may be at a much greater risk of developing a variant H5N1 and passing it along to non-agricultural workers," Gray says. "Not protecting agricultural workers could amplify influenza transmission among humans and domestic animals during a pandemic and cause considerable damage to the swine and poultry industries, as well as the U.S. economy." While swine in other countries have been infected by the H5N1 virus, to date, the virus has not become readily transmissible between swine.
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Swine influenza infections generally produce mild or no symptoms in both pigs and humans. However, exposure to swine flu virus at a 1988 Wisconsin county fair resulted in serious illness for 50 swine exhibitors and three of their family members; one previously healthy woman who became infected died.
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The U.S. swine industry, which employs about 575,000 people, has shifted during the past 60 years from primarily small herds located on family farms to large herds maintained in expansive but confined agricultural facilities. Crowded conditions coupled with the constant introduction of young pigs to existing herds have made swine flu infections among pigs a year-round occurrence rather than the seasonal event they once were. As a result, there is a constant opportunity for people who are occupationally exposed to pigs to become infected with influenza viruses and, conversely, a continual opportunity for human flu viruses to mix with swine or bird flu viruses.
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To determine the prevalence of swine influenza infection among swine-exposed employees, the researchers, led by Dr. Gray and graduate student Kendall P. Myers, examined serum samples taken from four adult populations in Iowa between 2002 and 2004. Three populations were occupational groups exposed to pigs: 111 farmers, 97 meat processing workers and 65 veterinarians. The fourth control group included 79 volunteers from the University of Iowa with no occupational pig exposure.
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The researchers tested the serum samples for antibodies to several then-current swine and human influenza A viruses. The results showed that all three occupational study groups had markedly elevated antibodies to swine flu viruses compared with the control group. Farmers had the strongest indication of exposure to swine flu viruses, as much as 35 times higher than the control group. Similarly, comparable values were as much as 18 times higher for veterinarians and as much as 7 times higher for meat processors than the control group. In contrast, exposure to human flu virus in the occupational groups was not significantly different than that of the control group.
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To date, the H5N1 avian virus has not appeared in the US in any animal population or in humans.
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ACCSH Public Meeting Scheduled for December 8-9 in Washington, D.C.
The Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH) will hold an open meeting in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8-9, 2005.á ACCSH advises the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health on standards, policies and practices related to the protection of construction workers from worksite hazards. The committee will meet from 8:30 - 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 8, and from 8:30-Noon on Friday, Dec. 9, in room N-3437 A-C, of the Frances Perkins Department of Labor Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20210. Agenda items include: Trenching Data and Initiative update; trench/excavation rescue presentation; standards update; work group assignments and reports; OSHA hurricane response and FEMA annex; activation overview; OSHA's role in National Response Plan; and OSHA Partnership, Alliance, Challenge, and Voluntary Protection Program for construction update. The ACCSH workgroups will meet Dec. 6-7 in the Frances Perkins Building as follows: Tuesday, December 6, 2005 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Diversity/Multilingual work group -- Room S-4215 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. - Roll-Over Protective Structures work group -- Room S-4215 Wednesday, December 7, 2005 8:30 - 10:30 a.m. - Trenching work group -- Room S-2217 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Residential Fall Protection work group -- Room S-2217 Written data, views or comments for consideration by the committee may be submitted to Ms. Veneta Chatmon, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Office of Communications, Room N-3647, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20210. Twenty copies are needed. Those submissions received prior to the meeting will be included in the record of the meeting. Anyone wishing to make an oral presentation to the committee on any of the agenda items should notify OSHA at the above address. The request should specify the amount of time desired, the capacity in which the person will appear and a brief outline of the presentation. ACCSH may grant requests to speak, as time permits, at the discretion of the ACCSH chairperson. Individuals needing special accommodations should call Ms. Veneta Chatmon (202) 693-1999; fax (202) 693-1635, no later than Dec. 2.
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