Poison preventers.

• Author: Farquhar, Doug
• Position: TRENDS - Brief article

Carbon monoxide poisoning continues to kill. More than 10,000 people in the United States are poisoned and require medical treatment each year, 4,000 of them are hospitalized and 500 of them die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most all of the poisonings are caused by breathing in high levels of the gas inside homes and buildings.

Carbon monoxide is odorless and invisible. It's found in fumes produced by cars, stoves, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges or furnaces. Symptoms of poisoning are similar to those of the flu: headache, dizziness, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain and confusion.

Twenty-nine state legislatures have adopted laws requiring the use of carbon monoxide detectors. The laws vary in details and requirements. Some require every enclosed room to have a detector, while others require them only in rooms with smoke alarms. Ten states require them in all new construction.

Florida requires detectors in every room with a boiler. Illinois...