Resident Is Fine After Carbon Monoxide Scare

Emergency service personnel responded this morning to a carbon monoxide report at a residence on Route 163. There were no injuries.

Montville Fire Chief Ron Turner determined that the problem stemmed from a damper in the chimney, said Montville Dispatcher Jon Leonard. When emergency service personnel responded, the carbon monoxide was at 30 parts per million, Leonard said.

The Environmental Protection Agency reports three levels of safety:

• OSHA: Permissible exposure limit for carbon monoxide is 50 parts per million  parts of air as an average over eight hours.
• The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health:  Recommended exposure limit of 35 ppm over eight hours, based on the risk of cardiovascular effects.
• The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists: 25 ppm for a normal 8-hour workday.

At low concentrations, the EPA says, elevated carbon monoxide can make healthy people feel tired and cause chest pains in people with heart disease.

Higher levels can impair vision and coordination, cause headaches, dizziness, confusion and nausea.

At very high concentrations, it is fatal.

Leonard said that when the detector went off, the resident called police, and was advised to keep the doors and windows shut, and to leave the house until emergency services personnel arrived. Closing the house allowed emergency services people to take measurements and address the issue.