With the cold and the heating being turned back on, a silent killer can enter homes. Carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas produced during the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials (natural gas, wood, coal, butane, gasoline, fuel oil, petroleum, propane), causes 3,000 to 4,000 victims per year in France, mainly from October to April, when the heating installations are turned on. In total, around a hundred people die from it every year.
“The current weather may cause a spike, as snowfall can cause power cuts, pushing people to use generators, sometimes poorly installed, inside homes, and not outside as recommended »warns Agnès Verrier, responsible for environmental health prevention at Public Health France. Caution is advised as Storm Caetano brings a first early winter spell of the season, with strong winds and snow until Friday, November 22. The local press has reported several cases of poisoning throughout France for several days.
Carbon monoxide, which does not occur naturally in the atmosphere, forms instead of carbon dioxide (CO2) during incomplete combustion, that is to say when a combustion source is not sufficiently oxygenated. This happens when a combustion appliance is improperly installed, maintained or ventilated.
Boilers above all
In homes, this concerns wood, coal, gas or oil boilers, gas water heaters, fireplaces or stoves, but also unconnected installations, such as gas cookers, braziers or barbecues. , decorative ethanol fireplaces, generators, vehicles or DIY machines in garages. “In 60% of cases, it is a boiler, especially gas, then come wood or pellet stoves”explains Marie Deguigne, pharmacist toxicologist and assistant to the poison control center at Angers University Hospital.
Hence the importance of having the heating installations checked and maintained by a qualified professional every year before winter, but also of ventilating your home every day for at least ten minutes and never blocking the ventilation systems. ventilation.
When carbon monoxide diffuses into a poorly ventilated room, it gradually replaces oxygen, including in the body, where this gas attaches to hemoglobin in place of oxygen. This is when acute poisoning occurs, the first symptoms of which are not necessarily specific: headaches, dizziness, nausea. Then comes vomiting and muscle weakness, particularly in the legs, which can lead to coma and cause death in the event of strong and prolonged exposure. “What should cause alarm is when several people experience the same symptoms at the same time”underlines Marie Deguigne.
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