Bill Would Mandate Standards For Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Two U.S. Senators last week introduced legislation that would give the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) the power to impose stricter standards for carbon monoxide detectors, according to the Echo Press of Alexandria, Minn.

http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/95738/group/homepage/

Amy Klobucher, D-Minn., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, are pushing for passage of the Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act. The legislation is named after two young brothers from Kimball, Minn., who died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Snowe told the Echo Press that the legislation is needed nationally and in Maine in particular, where residents sometimes use indoor heaters — which can emit carbon monoxide — to warm up their homes in the cold northern winters.  That’s why consumers in Maine and other states need to be sure that their carbon monoxide alarms are working and safeguarding them, according to Snowe.

Obviously, the same can be said for Minnesota, which also has extraordinarily cold winters.

Essentially, the legislation would give the CPSC teeth in terms of making sure that carbon monoxide detectors are up to snuff and working. According to the Echo Press, the CPSC now only has voluntary standards for such detectors, which are set by Underwriters Laboratories.

Under the bill, these safety standards would become mandatory for all carbon monoxide detectors sold in the United States, the Echo Press reported. The legislation also lets the CPSC allocate resources to promote carbon monoxide detectors and educate the public about them.