Imagine a killer perfect enough to travel through the corridors of your home completely undetectable to the eye of its prey. It can’t be heard, can’t be smelled, and before you or anyone in your household realizes that something is wrong, it could already be too late. Over ten thousand people fall victim to carbon monoxide poisoning and over one thousand five hundred die per year of this gas so deadly, it is referred to as the “silent killer”(“What Is Carbon Monoxide?”). Carbon monoxide, or CO for short, is a flammable, colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is produced during incomplete combustion of fuel and it’s ability to do harm resides within the lack of knowledge and understanding of this gas by society. To remain safe from carbon monoxide poisoning, one must comprehend the causes of carbon monoxide, where it can be found, and how to avoid and deal with contamination.
Carbon itself is one of the most abundant elements in the universe. It can be found in the sun, the stars, comets, and the atmospheres of most planets. There are close to ten million known carbon compounds, many thousands of which are vital to the basis of life itself. In normal combustion, the output would yield two oxygen molecules in combination with one carbon molecule to from carbon dioxide, or CO2. If not enough oxygen is present when the combustion occurs, one molecule is taken in by the carbon molecule to produce carbon monoxide (CO).
When a person takes a breath of air, normally it is absorbed through the bloodstream and the oxygen molecules in the air attaches to the hemoglobin and is then carried throughout the body (“Frequently Asked Questions About Carbon Monoxide Detectors”). When carbon monoxide is inhaled, it takes the place of the oxygen molecules in the hemoglobin instead because of it’s higher affinity to hemoglobin than oxygen, producing a toxic compound known as carboxyhemoglobin (“What Is Carbon Monoxide?”). This, in turn, restricts the capacity of blood to carry oxygen throughout the body suffocating it. A human body deprived of oxygen becomes very ill and cannot function correctly.
Not only has carbon monoxide been accredited for taking life involuntarily but unfortunately also finds itself as an alternative method for suicide (Doug). The availability of this method, along with the speed and lack of discomfort, makes it a liable source for anyone sadly seeking t...
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...deadly gas that continues to claim many lives every year utilizing societies blindness as it stronghold. Acquiring an understanding of how CO works and how it can be prevented is the only way to be safe from harm. In this case, knowledge is a weapon, use it wisely.
Works Cited
“Automobiles and Carbon Monoxide.” OMS Fact Sheet #3. Jan. 1999. Online. Internet. 24 May 2001.
Baker, O. “Car-emission standards improve rural air.” Science News. 25 Sept. 1999. FindArticles.com. Online. Internet. 24 May 2001.
“Carbon Monoxide.” Chimney Institute of America. Online. Internet. 25 May 2001.
Doug. “Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning As a Method of Suicide.” Home Page. Online. Internet. 24 May 2001.
“Experts Weigh In On Carbon-Monoxide Detectors.” SeattleTimes.com. 2 Aug. 2000. Online. Internet. 25 May 2001.
“Protect Your Family and Yourself From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. Online. Internet. 25 May 2001.
“Frequently Asked Questions About Carbon Monoxide Detectors.” H. Brandon Guest and Hamel Volunteer Fire Department 1995. Online. Internet. 24 May 2001.
“What Is Carbon Monoxide?” HOMESAFE.COM Safety Resources. Online. Internet. 24 May 2001.
We cannot dispute that automobiles, factories, and power plants, displace an unprecedented twenty tons of carbon monoxide - per person - per year. There needs to be a reduction in emissions, yet we cannot focus on this aspect of global warming alone. There are many indicators that climatic change is influencing the frequency and intensity of natural catastrophes. If scientific global climate models are accurate, the present problems will be magnified in the near future.
"The Toll from Coal." Catf.us. Clean Air Task Force, Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Four months prior to Kirk’s attempted carbon monoxide poisoning, a suicide attempt best described as an inchoate suicide, he attempted a para suicide. This first attempt was made through chasing a handful of Percocet with a bottle of whisky shortly after sending a suicidal text message to his sister. Kirk became sick from the mixture and ended up being taken to the hospital by his sister, shortly after consuming the cocktail of pills and alcohol. This suicide pursuit resulted in having his stomach pumped and a referral written for psychiatric help. Prior to this course, I was not enlightened towards the concept of para-suicide. Though, I had considered that some individuals attempt suicide without the intention of ending their life, I remained unaware that there was a substantial amount of knowledge and understanding about what para suicides are. In the same way, acquiring knowledge about the many forms of suicide has helped me understand the significant differences between Kirk’s attempts.
The quality of air we intake on a daily basis is essential to our health, therefore, the EPA’s Clean Air Act provides the groundwork to support the quality of the air which we breathe. One of the goals of the Act was to set and achieve NAAQS in every state by 1975 to address the public health and welfare risks posed by certain air pollutants. The setting of these pollutant standards was coupled with directing the states to develop state implementation plans (SIPs), applicable to appropriate industrial sources in the stat...
results. Accordingly, as the chemistry of suicide comes to light, there seems to be a
Modern philosophy stipulates that the will to preserve one’s life as long as possible is a fundamental aspect of basic logic and reason. The will to survive as long as possible is described as an innate and natural instinct of being human. Based on this philosophical reasoning, it is inherently illogical and irrational to willingly put an end to one’s life. Sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists have also condemned suicide by stating that it is associated with mental, social and physical ill-being and that those who commit suicide are not in a rational state of mind. These scientific and philosophical approaches to suicide have contributed to formally documenting suicide as a wrong, irrational and immoral act. The problem is that these approaches see suicide in a generalized manner and do not take into account sub-types and different kinds of suicide such as euthanasia for example, which is physician-assisted and intentional suicide in the case of a terminally ill patient with no possibility of recovering from his or her medical condition. Technological developments in medicin...
The effects of inhalant use are many. Almost all the abused products offer effects similar to those of anesthetics, which are slowing down the body functions. Depending upon the dosage, the user may feel a slight stimulation, less inhibition, or lose consciousness altogether. There is also something called Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. This means that the user can die after one inhalant use or after many. Immediate effects inhalants offer are nausea, sneezing, coughing, nosebleeds, feeling/looking tired, bad breath, lack of coordination, and loss of appetite. There is considerable damage to ones heart, kidney, brain, liver, bone marrow, and other organs. Mothers who use inhalants during their pregnancy will leave their baby to suffer similar results of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. There are many long terms effects as well. Permanent brain damage can occur. A person doesn’t even have to be doing it for very long before the brain starts to get clogged. Loss of memory is one of the first signs of brain damage.
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is known to be one of a number of gases that are astonishingly transparent to the visible light that falls on the Earth from the Sun, but it absorb the infra-red radiation that emitted by the warm surface of our Earth, to prevents its loss into space. Moreover, CO2 has varied considerably and this affected the Earth’s temperature. Most common source of this CO2 is known as the fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are primarily coal, hydrocarbons, natural gas, or fuel oil that formed from the remains of the dead plants and also animals. The burning fossil fuel that has been created by humans is the largest source of emissions of the carbon dioxide.
In the mid-seventies basic steps were taken to reduce the pollution caused by cars, which of course at their heart is an internal combustion engine. The first and most obvious source of pollution from cars is the Exhaust pipe. Exhaust emissions contain carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen. Also a small amount of solid matter, or particulates, is emitted in the form of lead from the tetraethyl lead used in fuel to increase its octane rating. It was found that these pollutants were having an adverse effect on the environment and in extreme cases were actually causing visible ‘smog.’ But exhaust emissions in pre-70’s cars were only accounting for 55% of automotive air pollutants. Another major source was emissions of hydrocarbons from the engine’s crankcase. They occurred because during combustion there is a small amount ...
Nutramed.com. 2009. Air Quality: Airborne Illness Car Exhaust - Health Effects. 20 Nov. 2014. http://www.mutramed.com/environment/carsepa.htm
Ozone can cause part of your lungs to close off and make it harder to breathe.
SUV’s burn more gas and spew out more pollution. Many of the big SUV’s pollute three times as much as cars, which greatly contributes to climate change and smog. But for many of us, it is difficult to connect our actions at the gas pump with the temperature outside or with the quality o...
Carbon Carbon is one of the basic elements of matter (Bush 1230-1231). The name carbon comes from the Latin word "carbo" meaning charcoal. Carbon is the sixth most abundant element (Gangson). More than 1,000,000 compounds are made from carbon (Carbon (C)). "The Element Carbon is defined as a naturally abundant non-metallic element that occurs in many inorganic and in all organic compounds, exists freely as graphite and diamond and as a constituent of coal, limestone, and petroleum, and is capable of chemical self-bonding to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically, and commercially important molecules.
Carbon Dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that occurs in small quantities in the earth's atmosphere naturally. The earth's ocean, soil, plants and animals release CO2. The formula of Carbon Dioxide is CO2. The CO2 molecule contains 2 oxygen atoms that each share 2 electrons with a carbon atom to form 2 carbon - oxygen double bonds. The atoms are arranged as so (OHT). This is called a 'linear molecule'.
society today. The CFC cans used to be a serious problem to the ozone layer,