Washington state is looking to overturn part of its law regarding carbon monoxide, the most common cause of accidental poisoning in the United States. And that has an expert on carbon monoxide poisoning up in arms.
“I am appalled that the state in which I reside would consider taking a giant step backward in preventing injury and death from carbon monoxide,” Dr. Neil Hampson wrote in a piece for The News Tribune.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/02/23/v-printerfriendly/1082249/pending-legislation-will-increase.html
He warns that under the pending House Bill 2886, existing home would no longer be required to have carbon monoxide detectors installed before their sale. That would eliminate “one of the best methods in which to ensure that CO alarms are phased into homes and can protect families,” he wrote.
The bill will also push back by two years the mandate that CO alarms be installed in apartments, hotels and student housing.
Yet Oregon, Illinois, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Colorado and Vermont were able to enforce their CO detector requirements for apartment buildings and hotels in far less time than two years, Hampson said.
He notes that more than 1,000 people die of carbon monoxide poisoning each year, and that those who survive a poisoning incident sometimes sustain permanent brain damage.
For more information on carbon monoxide exposure, see https://carbonmonoxide-poisoning.com
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