Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarms and Monitors are designed to monitor indoor levels of carbon monoxide. Exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide is known to cause adverse effects on our health and, as it is well known, deadly at higher levels.
OK, what is not well known is the debate on the standards or specifications of CO alarms on the market today. Nuisance or false alarms of the 90's and subsequent review of standards by the Consumer Protection Agency revealed unreliability and manufacturers quality assurance was substandard. The failure rate of these "life safety devices" give consumers a false sense of security. New recommendations by the CPSC were not adopted. Independent evaluations have revealed "questionable performance of commercially available residential CO alarms may be attributable in part to shortcomings of the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) 2034 standard, particularly its continued omission of the requirement for quality assurance testing recommended by the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) in October 1996" (Paul Clifford, Mosaic Industries 'Evaluating the Performance of Residential CO Alarms). These recommendations have now been incorporated into the CSA 6.19-01 Standard for Residential CO Alarms - tested for a designed lifespan of at least 3 years and require either an automatic device or a marked replacement date to indicate the designed lifespan has been exceeded. CSA 6.19-01 includes Time-of-Manufacture reliability and In-Service Reliability Testing for interference gases and sensitivity to CO at low humidity.
These revelations of manufacturing shortcomings are disturbing - considering the importance of the safety device. And that is not the whole story ..
Low-Levels of CO cause oxidative stress - when you breathe your cells produce energy and highly reactive molecules known as free radicals causing oxidative damage to proteins, membranes and genes. Oxidative damage has been implicated as the cause of many diseases. Inhaling low levels of carbon monoxide competes with oxygen for binding to hemoglobin, the protein that transports oxygen through the bloodstream and releases it to cells and tissues. Binding of carbon monoxide to hemoglobin, forms carboxyhemoglobin, reducing the amount of oxygen available to the heart muscle and other tissues.
OK, so it is apparent we do not want to be exposed regularly to low level carbon monoxide. But you may be, even with a brand new CO alarm. Lower cost CO alarms on the market today will not 'alarm' until 70ppm (parts per million) of exposure for up to 4 hours ... Lower than 30ppm - the alarm may not sound for 30 days.
So, spend the money and get what you pay for ... a low level, carbon monoxide monitor that monitors itself - sensor, electronics and battery. Detected failures and the unit will 'chirp' and error condition will be indicated in the LCD display. BAT = low battery, ERR = failure of electronics, SENSOR END = sensor failure or 'sensor end-of-life".
Joe Lawless
