welcome to "beyond the headlines", i'm cheryl jennings. today we're talking about carbon monoxide and the dangers of this colorless, odorless, gas.

carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in america killing 400 and injuring more than 20,000 every year. i can't see it or smell it or taste carbon monoxide. but at high levels it can kill in just minutes. california joined 25 other states requiring many of us to have a carbon monoxide detector in our home. here is can ashley with the story. >> in 2009, 78-year-old died in his apartment from carbon monoxide poisoning. he might have survived but neighbors ignored the warning, a carbon monoxide detector going off in an empty fourth floor apartment. >> carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tastedless gas. >> the fire marshal says headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness are warning signs. 700 people are treated for it

every year and 40 people die from it. without a carbon monoxide detector like this one, you might not know that you are being poisoned. >> they should be installed in the hallway outside of each sleeping area and on each level home. >> started this year, they will be re to install carbon monoxide detectors. it's that easy. >> january 1st of 2013 all of the remaining residential including metro apple dwellings will be required to have carbon monoxide zblarms this home depot store is not far from where a mother and two children were rushed to the hospital because of carbon monoxide poisoning early this year. they have been trying to get the word out. >> the one around batteries start about $17 and go up to 22s. the others 25 up to $32.

>> first responders say it's worth it. >> it will save lives. >> and they won't be going door to door but you can be fined had up to $200. you want to make sure you have one before you sell your house. eric stephenson is director of bay area air quality management district. it seems so obvious but the health risks. what is carbon monoxide. i know we heard about it but what is it? >> it's a very simple stable compound that it doesn't change over time. it tends to accumulate especially in small enclosed places, like in homes. >> so if you have a window open, that would be helpful? >> that would be helpful, during the winter months, it's cold,

it's a lot more difficult to leave the windows open. >> how do we measure it without this? >> in the bay area we have approximately 30 monitoring station that monitors a wide range of pollutants. we have been measuring these since the '70s. >> do you have some places that are worse than others? >> of course. urban areas have higher concentrations in the outside air. more rural areas tend to be cleaner. >> a know a lot of my folks in my neighborhood, have wood in their fireplace and sometimes they are not supposed to. how much does it contribute? >> with wood burning worry confederate about the particulate matter but anything that uses has has carbon in it can produce carbon monoxide.

so in a fireplace, you have em elevated levels of carbon monoxide. >> are there some areas that you think that contribute to it. or is that just overall pollution in general? >> good question. in general, industrial companies produce lots of carbon monoxide but the largest is automobiles. >> cheryl: so that is something the industry is adressing? >> carbon monoxide is a success story. back in the early 70s we used to see the standards, 40 or 50 times a year. we haven't had any nor the carbon monoxide standard since the early 90s. >> so we're doing well and national standards compared to california standards? >> there are two standards. one is exposure over eight hours and california and federal government have the same standards.

for the more acute standards, the one hour standard, the federal standard is 35 parts perfect million where the state standard is 20. so the state is much more restrictive. >> cheryl: how do you get people to comply with that? >> that is all done through the regulatory process. we issue permits to facilities and control it that way. >> cheryl: we have much more to talk about. stay right there. we're hoping that you will stay right there with us.

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>> cheryl: welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. we've been talking about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. four people were found dead inside their home in the town near fresno. the family was using a gas powered generator after their electricity was cut off. officials say a lack of ventilation allowed the carbon monoxide to flow through the house.

a 27-year-old woman survived and police say it may be because she went outside during the night for a cigarette. here back with us, is eric stephenson. director of technical services with bay area quality management district. i'm thinking about what happened to that family. it's cold. a lot of people are suffering and lots of people will be running out of electricity. so what are some of the ways we can protect ourselves? >> good question. anything that utilizes fuel has the potential to create carbon monoxide. if it's operating properly usually it isn't something we need to be concerned about. but common sense is the best mother doling. you don't want to put a generator and have it running from a room. you don't want to be using your barbecue indoors.

as long as you are burning fuel in the house and proper ventilation you should being on ok. >> and gas generator you can smell it so it should be a clue? >> yes. >> you talked earlier about some of the industries that cause pollution and they are getting better. are there other things we need to think about? >> in jenny time we can decrease pollution, we will be decreasing carbon monoxide along with that. in the bay area, major sources, automobiles. less we drive the less pollution we put in the air. >> cheryl: i know you said we are doing pretty well with cars. what are you doing trying to coordinated everything to make it better. how does it work? >> for us the bay area air quality management district, we deal with facilities. for cars, trucks and things of

that nature that is done by the state of california or the federal government. we don't have purview over that. we can provide information to the public and decreasing automobile use is going to be good. >> cheryl: what about the environment? >> it's a fairly simple compound. so the direct emissions of carbon monoxide from the smokestack are pretty stable. in other words, there isn't long term effects caused by the carbon monoxide other than the effects of people's health. >> so do we need to worry about our health inside to outside? >> in the outside air, no. we've done a good job. we've decreased levels. for the most part, unless there is some sort of unique weather pattern that would cause a build-up in inland valleys, what

we call street canyons, the outside areas is very safe. it's indoor that causes a problem. >> even in the wintertime, we talked about generators, people trying to use barbecues, but what about boilers and furnaces? >> they do create carbon monoxide. as long as they are maintained properly and they are in good working order, usually it's not going to be a concern. usually problems are caused when there is a lack of maintenance or degradation to the equipment itself that allows carbon monoxide to escape in the house where people are exposed. >> cheryl: so there is no way to know that unless you get one of these? >> exactly. one of beauty of science these days is the instrumentation we use is miniaturized. it's incredibly accurate.

>> we never thought about these things before? >> exactly. >> cheryl: eric, thank you so much. thanks for your expertise. we do have to take a break. we'll be hey guys, what can i get for you? i would like a decaf 360 calories please. and for you? i'll have a triple iced 410 calories please. you want the 40 whipped calories on that? uh, you know what... i'll have this instead. [ female announcer ] swap one thing a day for a yoplait light.

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welcome back. we've been talking about carbon monoxide. in march, carbon monoxide poisoning of a san francisco apartment building sent two people to the hospital. they were taken to the hospital and firefighters had to evacuate the complex. firefighters say they were both conscious and able to talk to paramedics. they say the carbon monoxide build-up was by a gas heater malfunctioning that didn't convenient the carbon monoxide. very tragic situation there. more on that right now is bill strawn, it's good to see you from san francisco kept building inspection. this is such an important issue if people don't know about this. let's talk about the law. when was this law passed and i know it went into effect in july? >> i think it was probably an 18-month cycle before it became

effective. since july 1, everybody has been full force of letting people know bit. >> was this way from the beginning? >> i don't think so. it's the nature of law making takes some time. >> cheryl: so how does the law apply? >> the initial part starts with residential homes. that started july 1. january 1 of 2013 they will go to commercial building and multiple unit buildings such as apartment buildings. >> i notice we've got some certificates that say self-certification of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. this is kind of draft? >> exactly. what we're trying to do is make it as easy as possible for homeowners anderty managers to do themselves, their families

and tenants a favor and get these installed. they are simple and easy to do. they save lives. i think we're trying to provide documentation that will simplify that process and have people do it as efficiently as possible. >> cheryl: so the homeowners that are watching this, i just got mine. i didn't realize it was so easy to install them? >> the new construction the fire marshal alluded to that. they are going hard wire in new construction but in existing buildings in san francisco, we have about 200,000 buildings and many of tha those buildings date from a long time ago. you can make improvements and the code requirements will change as those improvements come along. i think with this, its simple device that you can easily install. it's really worth doing it.

>> cheryl: now, when you were talking about furnaces and people can get into trouble with carbon monoxide, you have something called a boiler inspection program. tell us about that. >> that is by our plumbing inspectors, essentially they on a manual basis that a device like a boiler that produces heat possibly for hot water is functioning correctly. as eric mentioned, it's when that equipment breaks down that you increase the probability of carbon monoxide getting generated. >> cheryl: we talk about homeowners and building owners what about renters? >> renters would be well ato bes doing is very helpful.

any tenant if the property owner isn't already acting to install the devices should bring it to that person's attention and call the building department we will bring it to them. >> cheryl: you got some clout there. and so it is helping? >> from a past point of view, a lot of property owners would be willing to do that. >> cheryl: we talked about how you should have one at least in the bedroom. where should these devices be put? >> as the fire marshal speaking earlier indicated, you want one on every level if you have a multiple level home. if you are on a single level, it's really about every ten feet if your bedroom happens to be along a corridor. in some places you might need more than one. otherwise you want one near the

garage and any fuel burning devices you might have. the obviously the technology is very sensitive. it will give you readings and warning that y warning that you need to pay attention and remove yourself. >> cheryl: get out of there, right. one quick question, where do you get these devices? >> they are sold all kinds of hardware stores, building supply stores, target, home depot, discount builders is offering them. they are very easy to obtain. >> cheryl: thank you so much. thanks for the education. we do have to take another break but we're

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>> cheryl: welcome back. we're talking about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and how each of us can prevent it. the devices are small and make a lot of noise and ultimately can save your life. that is why since last month,

abc7 has supported our second annual campaign to distribute smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. the october kickoff event was held at fire station number 7 but departments all around the bay area are participating. the goal is to raise awareness about fire safety and the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning. it's so important to have both in the home. >> testing for two different gases, it's a different, carbon monoxide is strictly for carbon monoxide, that is caused by fuel burning appliances that may not be vented properly. >> 3,000 smoke alarms and 3500 carbon monoxide detectors will be given out. a new law requires the monitors in single family homes. in the studio with me is deputy chief james williams from the oakland fire department. so good to have you here? >> glad to be here. >> you told me the list that

produce gas that could be a problem. so real quick? >> things like gas heaters, care seen and gas portable heaters, hot water heaters as well as your gas dryers and other types of appliances. >> cheryl: so you get the calls of carbon monoxide poisoning, does it happen often? >> we don't get a lot of calls. each year, natural gas leaks and carbon monoxide alarms do come in. when wee they do we try to help the folks. >> cheryl: when you get on the scene do you know what it is? >> it depends on the report. sometimes we do and sometimes we continues to. sometimes a neighbor will say they hear an alarm sounding but with the new law we're finding more carbon monoxide detectors and we respond quickly and try to help those folks.

>> cheryl: when your men and women go in there and help determine it's carbon monoxide poisoning, they could be at risk? >> always responders there is small potential danger but in this particular case, you are able to open doors and windows and get the building ventilated and get the people out to get them away from the bad atmosphere. >> cheryl: it'sot to be tricky. so how do you figure it out? >> some have carbon monoxide detectors, each agency is different. some use those to monitor but the length of exposure that creates the problem. we're there, we're there fairly quickly and opening doors and windows. open those doors and windows to exchange the carbon monoxide for nice fresh air. that is positive. the key is amount of time you

are exposed to that particular gas. >> cheryl: if somebody is feeling lighted headed, some ou talked about and want to take a nap, they would go to sleep and that would be it? >> that could be the nek effect. when that happens, we want people to ventilate their homes. we want them to call the fire department if they are not sure. we can help them out. typically, we're going to stabilize it by turning off the appliance, we don't want people to have generators inside the homes. we're going to mitigate the situation and then we'll probably remove the individual from the particular environment. >> cheryl: so one good way they can do it is get one of these detectors. i want to set this one to show people what it sounds like.

and it's going to recycle. it takes a few seconds. >> and one more time (beep beep) >> in a real situation, the alarm will continue to go off. it would not recycle. that was checking and testing the system you should do every week. it reset itself and that is why it stopped. if the gas continued the alarm would have sustained itself. >> cheryl: one final thing, how often should you test your carbon monoxide and smoke detectors? >> test them monthly and certainly change the batteries whenever we change the time. we just recently changed time, change the batteries and same things with the carbon monoxide detectors. >> cheryl: thanks for being here. all right. we are out of time. a big special thanks to all of our guests for joining us today. that is it for this edition of "beyond the headlines".

if you more information, go to abc7news.com/community and you can find us on facebook or follow me on twitter. i'm cheryl jennings. thanks so much for joining us. have a great week and remember, we're going to have to have one of these, bye-bye.ab