Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide, also called Carbon Monooxide or Carbonic Oxide, has a molecular weight of 28.01g/mol and is a colorless, odorless, tasteless (when converted to a cryogenic liquid) gas that can cause serious short term health effects or even kill you within a few hours of constant exposure. 

 Due to its ‘transparent’ physical characteristics, CO is highly dangerous. Since it is undetectable without proper equipment, it is subsequently referred to as the ‘silent killer’. Carbon Monoxide has a higher affinity to the hemoglobin (the oxygen carrying molecules found in blood) than oxygen does. As a result, a complex called carboxyhemoglobin is created which blocks the hemoglobin sites thereby depleting oxygen levels in the body.

CO is normally Labelled using the following WHMIS Symbols:

• - Acute Toxicity
• - Flammable
• - Compressed Gas
• - Health Hazard

Carbon Monoxide is a byproduct of the incomplete combustion of carbon compounds. Common day to day exposure is usually from fires, stoves or BBQ grills and cars/ buses/ trucks. A more recent concern comes from the common consumption of Hookah amongst the youth.

Hookah emits 35x more CO than an average cigarette and produces smoke equivalent to that of 100 cigarettes!

According to research conducted by Ontario’s Air Quality Control Index, Carbon Monoxide concentrations are 89x higher inside Hookah cafes.

But Carbon isn’t all bad, it was discovered that carbon monoxide can be used in packaging meat to help them retain their ‘fresh’ color without proving any health hazards to those consuming that CO infused meat.

What are your Thoughts?

References:

Blachman-Braun, R., Del Mazo-Rodríguez, R., López-Sámano, G., & Buendía-Roldán, I. (2014). Hookah, is it really harmless?. Respiratory Medicine, 108(5), 661-667. doi:10.1016/j.rmed.2014.01.013

Carbon monoxide. (2019). Retrieved from https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/281#section=TopCarbon Monoxide - MeSH - NCBI.

Carboxyhemoglobin. (2019). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carboxyhemoglobin

Carbon Monoxide - MeSH - NCBI. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/68002248

Carbon monoxide. (2019). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide

Carbon Monoxide. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp201-c4.pdf

Carbon monoxide - DrugBank. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB11588

Facts about Carbon Monoxide - PuroClean. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.puroclean.com/blog/facts-about-carbon-monoxide/

Lide, D.R. CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 88TH Edition 2007-2008. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL 2007, p. 3-88

Man finds wife and 'lover' dead 'after they had sex in the car'. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5940039/Man-finds-wife-lover-dead-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-sex-car.html

O'Neil, M.J. (ed.). The Merck Index - An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck and Co., Inc., 2006., p. 294

WHMIS Classifications: Carbon monoxide. (2019). Retrieved from http://ccinfoweb2.ccohs.ca/whmis/records/57E.html

Zhang, B., Haji, F., Kaufman, P., Muir, S., & Ferrence, R. (2013). ‘Enter at your own risk’: a multimethod study of air quality and biological measures in Canadian waterpipe cafes. Tobacco Control, 24(2), 175-181. doi:10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2013-051180

100+ Pollution Pictures | Download Free Images on Unsplash. (2019). Retrieved from  https://unsplash.com/search/photos/

(2019). Retrieved from https://www.mayo.edu/research/documents/hookah-from-the-middle-east-to-western-countries-mdash-hawari/doc-20003070