ABSTRACT
Carbon monoxide is a leading cause of poisoning deaths in the United States. Hundreds die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning and many thousands are treated in medical facilities. Generators used inside homes, in attached garages, or near ventilation intake ducts are responsible for a large number of carbon monoxide poisonings and fatalities. Small gasoline engines running in confined spaces can generate lethal levels of carbon monoxide within minutes. Carbon monoxide is sometimes confused with carbon dioxide. The toxicity of these two gases is significantly different. When one is exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide, death results from the fact that oxygen is excluded from the breathing environment. In 2010, teenage boys who had gathered together in a Florida motel room to celebrate a birthday were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning. The circumstances of this case strongly pointed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
