ABSTRACT

The first “instruments” for “testing” the atmosphere for Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas must have been human beings. The third generation of air sampling instruments for CO gas was exemplified by a relatively crude device: the miner’s flame safety lamp. Detonations and combustion within the mines, especially coal mines, released CO gas among other products of incomplete combustion. Until about 1910, litde was done to accurately quantify CO in gas mixtures, whether in work environments, automobile exhaust gases, the home, industrial stacks, or other smoky places. Environmental exposures to CO gas outside workplaces require limits more conservative than those used for industrial hygiene purposes. Several analytical and statistical concepts are important when expressing air concentrations of CO gas. All testing and measurements of CO should have the highest accuracy and precision possible in the context of the desired objectives. Stack emission testing for CO from combustion processes can be helpful in determining reentry of contaminants into building air intakes.