Boat Related CO – Is Public Education Enough?

Boat Related CO Poisonings Keep Happening

Old lessons need to be relearned to prevent boat related CO poisonings as they strikes Lake Powell again a generation after 2000 studies.

By Rebecca Martin

When two brothers died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in August of 2000, it sparked the beginning of an investigation into all boat related CO incidents. Although the study focused on injuries and deaths beginning in 1994, they identified 9 fatalities and 100 non-fatal incidents during that time period.  The results of these studies led to adapting new protocols when responding to injuries and deaths and a massive effort to educate the public about the dangers of carbon monoxide when boating.

We wonder again whether public education is enough to prevent boat belated CO poisonings as Lake Powell poisonings keep happening. Is it time to demand change from generator manufactures?

Boat Related CO hits Lake Powell Again

With public safety thus duly addressed, it should come as a surprise that this week 21 people fell ill on a houseboat on Lake Powell, AZ with three adults and two children being airlifted to the hospital for further treatment. It was the third carbon monoxide-related incident reported in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area this month. https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/5-flown-to-hospital-for-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-houseboat-at-lake-powell-arizona/75-5010459f-e559-4c63-a278-ce2999aac7b0

Rangers had been dispatched at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday, July 17 after a call reporting that four people were showing signs of carbon monoxide poisoning on a private boat. When reporting to the scene, rangers discovered 21 people exhibiting symptoms. Five medical helicopters were dispatched to the scene. 16 people were treated at the scene while 5 were immediately airlifted to St. George Hospital. St. George Regional Hospital is a referral center for northwestern Arizona, southeastern Nevada and southern Utah which has hyperbaric equipment on site.

After enjoying a night out for dinner, most of the boaters had retired to bed while a small group stayed up to play games. Around midnight the group who were still socializing began to feel ill and collapsed when they stood up to leave. Others were vomiting off the back of the boat. Those who had remained awake were able to wake up the rest of the boaters, evacuate the boat and contact emergency services. “We’ve been told by several doctors we should have all been dead in our sleep,” shared Kaizley, who was one of those hospitalized. https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/21-people-suffer-from-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-on-lake-powell-houseboat

Although 16 were treated on the scene, all of the passengers did ultimately go to the hospital for evaluation. “They put every one of us, including a brand-new baby, through the hyperbaric chamber to hopefully help us all recover that way,” said Ryker Eades. https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/21-people-suffer-from-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-on-lake-powell-houseboat

Generators Can Always Pose a Danger

The park service noted in the subsequent social media postings that the problem is that older houseboats are powered by engines and generators which may have not had the proper preventative maintenance and stressed that all vessels should have operable marine carbon monoxide detectors. This observation brings into question the actual efficiency of safety measures taken after the studies which followed the 2000 deaths at Lake Powell. Although it is now routine to check all drowning victims for carbon monoxide, and there are requirements for warning signs to be posted and programs to educate the public to the dangers of carbon monoxide when boating, has it been enough? We have discussed boat related CO poisonings before, here.

The preliminary findings of the investigation of boating injuries and deaths on Lake Powell left boat owners with the responsibility of contacting the manufacturers of their boats to determine what corrective measures might be taken. It was also left in the hands of state and federal agencies who collect fees for boat regulations to determine what actions might be taken to prevent injury and death.

36 of the non-fatal poisonings looked at during the study occurred inside the boat cabin and in 8 of these instances the carbon monoxide alarm had been disabled due to repeated alarms. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4949a1.htm

The response set in motion by the findings of the 2000 study was as follows:

• an extensive effort to increase awareness of the problem by enlisting the help of state health departments, boat safety organizations, and other public health groups
• developing plans to educate EMS and hospital emergency department staff to improve patient care through more rapid identification of CO poisoning symptoms
• initiating public awareness program aimed at boat owners, renters, and occupants that included widespread posting and distribution of warning flyers, issuance of press releases, and contacting houseboat owners

However, the report also noted that because of continuing incidences of carbon monoxide poisoning that a rapid intervention through modification of boat designs was needed. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm4949.pdf

While this intervention might prevent future safety issues, the main problem seems to lie with older vessels that will be in service for many years to come.

We do have parallel laws to protect boaters, for example, the rules that require life vests for every passenger be available. Since 1998, The American Boat and Yacht Council recommended that all new boats with gasoline inboards and generators to have marine carbon monoxide detectors installed. That recommendation has become a requirement.

Keep in mind that part of the resistance was because carbon monoxide detectors made before 1992 were highly sensitive to the presence of carbon monoxide and were alarming at the brief presence of carbon monoxide wafting in resulting in numerous false alarms. The flip side of the coin is that with new detectors carbon monoxide can waft in and out over a period of time without alarming and the alarm may only sound when concentrations have a chance to build up.

“CO that drifts in and out of a cabin can be dangerous, since the effects of CO are cumulative and can build up gradually in a person’s bloodstream over hours or even days before it reaches critical levels.

This is true even if when the person breathes fresh air periodically; the CO remains in the bloodstream. How quickly the CO builds up is a factor of the concentration of the gas being inhaled (measured in parts per million [PPM]) and the duration of the exposure.

The half-life of CO is approximately five hours, which means that it takes five hours for the level of CO in the blood to drop to half its level when exposure was terminated.” https://www.boatus.org/study-guide/prep/co2

It seems to beg the question as to whether we need the same type of regulations for carbon monoxide detectors on all vessels the same way we require a valid boat registration, the presence of life preservers and the safe operation of watercraft on our public waterways.

The boatus.org article includes a story that does not rule out newer boats when it comes to potential dangers from carbon monoxide. In the story a woman is snapping pictures of a passing boat and notices that oddly the flag on the rear of the boat was blowing forward rather than backward as would be expected. Further investigation found that a new canvas roof had been installed on the flybridge and when the flaps were closed the air was being sucked into the flybridge due to what is called the “station wagon effect”, which is described as air moving around an area creating a low-pressure zone which then draws exhaust into the area.

Sophie’s Law for Boat Related CO Prevention

In Minnesota, the death of a seven-year-old girl from carbon monoxide while boating resulted in the passing of Sophie’s Law.

“Sophia’s Law requires that all motorboats, regardless of fuel type, with an enclosed accommodation compartment must be equipped with a functioning marine CO detector system installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. All gasoline-powered motorboats with any enclosed occupancy compartment must display the three CO warning stickers as directed by law.” https://www.bayportmarina.com/sophies-law/#:~:text=Sophie’s%20Law%20%2D%20New%20Carbon%20Monoxide%20Law%20for%20Minnesota

Minnesota was the first state to pass such a law. Among the regulations included in this law is a very important one; that only marine CO detectors that meet ABYC standard A-24 should be installed and should be certified by an independent party. It is also recommended that marine carbon monoxide detectors are installed by professional marine technicians due to the risk of electric shock or fire.

Marine CO detectors should be installed in the main cabin, in any sleeping compartment or within 10 feet of any sleeping area.

It is also recommended that low-level CO detectors be installed especially in cases where passengers may include the very young, the elderly, pregnant women and those with health issues. Low level CO detectors are not adequate to replace marine CO detectors because they do not stand up to the marine environment and may fail to function.

When we look at boating regulations for Arizona, home of Lake Powell, however, we see a different priority for equipment. There are registration decals, wearable life jackets, horns, whistles or bells, navigation lights, fire extinguishers and mufflers, to name a few. https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/arizona-handbook-entire.pdf

Reading the lists of requirements for boating in Arizona we don’t see carbon monoxide detectors. We don’t even see the safety stickers which are required to be displayed in all boats under Minnesota’s Sophia’s Law.

This leads me to wonder how extensive the campaign to make Lake Powell boaters aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide was.

Three instances in the last month alone. How many more before the season ends?