Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
I KNOW WHY they call it the ’silent killer,’” said Mike Diggs after a harrowing experience nearly cost the lives of him, two of his children and a close friend recently.
All four were overcome by carbon monoxide and if it weren’t for the quick reaction of Dan Rodgers, the outcome may have been tragic. Rodgers was the first to realize something was terribly wrong and went for help.
Rodgers and Diggs were working on a pickup together in a garage next to the Diggs house at 420 NW Third Street, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. Mike’s son Griffin, 5, and daughter Sydney, 9 were playing in a nearby room.
”It had only been running less than 10 minutes,” claims Diggs, which was why he was so surprised when carbon monoxide poisoning was found to be the problem.
The confined space, lack of air movement, and the type of engine may have played a factor in the concentration of CO in the air. Carbon monoxide is measured in parts per million (ppm). At 35 ppm, headache and dizziness occurs within six to eight hours of constant exposure; at 400 ppm, symptoms occur within one to two hours. At 1600 ppm, headache, dizziness and nausea occur within 20 minutes - death in less than two hours. Diggs’s pickup, a 1979 Chevrolet, can produce an exhaust containing up to 25% carbon monoxide. Newer vehicles have catalytic converters that eliminate over 99% of the deadly gas.
Diggs, like so many other victims, was too groggy to recognize the symptoms with both him and his children. This is often the case in accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.
