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This document lists the standards & limits for exposure to carbon monoxide gas (CO). We give references and explanation regarding Toxicity of Carbon Monoxide, based on literature search and search on Compuserve's Safety Forum. This is background information, obtained from expert sources. This text may assist readers in understanding these topics. However it should by no means be considered complete nor authoritative.

Seek prompt advice from your doctor or health/safety experts if you have any reason to be concerned about exposure to toxic gases. Carbon monoxide poisoning can be fatal but exposure at lower limits can produce flu-like symptoms and headaches that are often mistaken for ordinary illness. Readers of this document should also see HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS.

IF YOU SUSPECT CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING GO INTO FRESH AIR IMMEDIATELY and get others out of the building, then call your fire department or emergency services for help. Links on this page also direct the reader to carbon dioxide gas information in a separate document. © Copyright 2009 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

Safety Suggestions: Install Carbon Monoxide Detectors in addition to Smoke Detectors

Carbon monoxide detectors are inexpensive and readily available, both as a battery-operated unit and as a unit that plugs into an electrical outlet in the home. No home should be without this safety protection, and homes with gas-fired equipment (natural gas or LP propane), space heaters, or other sources of risk should be extra cautious. Smoke detectors do not protect against carbon monoxide poisoning, and the opposite is also true. Carbon monoxide detectors do not warn of smoke or fire.

CO EXPOSURE LIMITS - Carbon monoxide exposure limits PEL and TLV set by OSHA and NIOSH

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that, in its effects on humans, is a chemical asphyxiant - that is, it causes asphyxiation, or death by preventing a person from receiving adequate oxygen. When inhaled, carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin in the blood more readily than oxygen does. Thus CO "displaces" or moves oxygen out from hemoglobin in the bloodstream. This interferes with oxygen transport by the blood.

A person suffering from carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication may first experience euphoria (similar to the effect of a martini or two), then carbon monoxide poisoning effects lead to a headache, followed by nausea and possibly vomiting as the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in the blood increases. To prevent these effects, OSHA has established a PEL of 50 ppm for an 8-hr exposure, identical to the TLV. NIOSH, on the other hand, has decided to be more conservative and recommends a standard of 35 ppm. All of these concentrations refer to exposures with durations of 8 hr/day, 40 hr/week for a working lifetime and all are attempts to establish a "no effect" level.

To prevent these effects, OSHA has established a PEL of 50 ppm for an 8-hr exposure, identical to the TLV. NIOSH, on the other hand, has decided to be more conservative and recommends a standard of 35 ppm.

All of these carbon monoxide or other gas exposure limit concentrations refer to exposures with durations of 8 hr/day, 40 hr/week for a working lifetime and all are attempts to establish a "no effect" level. Here are some other exposure levels and effects of carbon monoxide exposure from various sources:

Original document source

This carbon monoxide discussion file originated from a technical expert message board discussion on Carbon Monoxide and later Carbon Dioxide alarms, featuring comments by one of the leading authorities on CO, Jack Peterson, P.E., CIH, Ph.D., in May, 1987. NOTE: Daniel Friedman extracted CO and CO2 sections from that document, edited and added practical and field inspection-based information. Since its original publication this document has been expanded by reference materials from a variety of other sources.

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