CARBON MONOXIDE

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, and at high concentrations, a poisonous gas.

Sources

Carbon monoxide is produced both by natural processes like volcanoes and forest fires and by human activities like the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline used by cars and coal to produce electricity.  The most common sources of carbon monoxide are human activities. Tobacco smoke and indoor gas fires are also common sources of carbon monoxide.

The transportation sector accounts for 65 per cent of all CO emissions from human activity in Ontario. A large part of the remainder comes from primary metal producers (24 per cent) and from fuel combustion in space heating and industrial processes (6 per cent).

Effects on health

When you breathe in carbon monoxide, it attaches to the hemoglobin molecules in your bloodstream, which carry oxygen around your body to your tissues. Carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen that your body tissues receive, which is particularly bad for your brain, heart and general health. Carbon monoxide can make you feel dizzy, weak, nauseous, confused and disoriented, and can also reduce your performance while doing exercise. The higher the level of carbon monoxide in your blood stream, the worse the effects. So at very high levels, coma, collapse, loss of consciousness and death can occur.

The groups that are most sensitive to carbon monoxide are middle-aged and elderly people with heart disease and unborn babies.