Volume 1, Issue 7                    The Traut Firm eNewsletter              July, 2005            www.trautfirm.com

The Silent Killer Aboard Your Boat

Each year, boaters are injured or killed by carbon monoxide. According to Coast Guard statistics, 43 fatalities have occurred in California in the past 15 years. Many occur on older boats and within the cabin or other enclosed areas. In recent years, federal investigations have focused on a series of accidents involving large houseboats in which the exhaust from gasoline generators has injured or killed individuals. Studies at several lakes in the United States, including Lake Havasu in Arizona, have revealed previously unrecognized dangers of carbon monoxide exposure.

You probably know that carbon monoxide poisoning is a danger when gasoline-powered engines are run in enclosed spaces. What many people don’t know is that severe carbon monoxide poisoning can also occur outdoors and has been linked with houseboats and skiboats.

Eric Traut litigated a case in 2003 involving the death of a 22 year old woman who drowned after being rendered unconscious by carbon monoxide. She had been holding onto the swim step at the back of a ski boat that was idling 100 yards off shore in front of a popular resort on Lake Havasu. The operator of the boat was unaware of the danger of carbon monoxide and was allowing his boat to idle while anchored, so that he could run the stereo without depleting his battery.

In California, as of May 1, 2005, Assembly Bill 2222 mandates that safety stickers are now required to be placed on boats by manufacturers to warn of the danger of carbon monoxide gas. One is placed at the helm to warn the driver, and another near the swim step to warn swimmers and skiers of the danger. For those of us who already own a boat, when we pay our next registration fee, we will receive the same warning stickers.

Carbon Monoxide Facts:

• Carbon Monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas. It is produced when a carbon-based fuel such as gasoline, wood, coal, or charcoal is burned.
   

• Carbon monoxide freely disperses through the air, and will readily travel throughout a boat.
   

• The most common source of carbon monoxide is exhaust from gasoline or diesel engines. Cooking ranges, heaters, and charcoal grills also produce carbon monoxide.
   

• Carbon monoxide is a cumulative poison. Relatively low concentrations in the atmosphere may accumulate in the victim's blood over a period of time with serious or fatal results. It is absorbed by the lungs and attaches itself to the red blood cells, much like oxygen. However, blood will bond with carbon monoxide 200 times faster than oxygen.
   

• Carbon monoxide discharged as engine, generator, or appliance exhaust may re-enter your boat through any opening.
   

• Carbon monoxide is lighter than water and heavier than air. When the wind is calm on a lake, a layer of carbon monoxide gas may be present just above the surface of the water.

Symptoms:

Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms may be easily overlooked because of their similarity to other health-related problems aboard boats - including sea sickness, colds, flu, overindulgence of alcohol and even the normal stressors of a day spent on the water (fatigue, eye strain, and the effects of sun and motion). One or more of the following symptoms may signify the adverse effects of carbon monoxide accumulations: water and itchy eyes, flushed appearance, throbbing temples, inattentiveness or lack of concentration, inability to think coherently, ringing in the ears, tightness across the chest, headache, drowsiness, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, vomiting, collapse, and convulsions.

These are generally but not always the sequence of symptoms. They may change for different people or different conditions. People who smoke or who are exposed to high concentrations of cigarette smoke, consume alcohol, or have lung disorders or heart problems are particularly susceptible to an increase in the effects of carbon monoxide.

Treatment:

Evacuate, Ventilate, Investigate, Take Corrective Action - Those are the basic steps. Move the affected person to fresh air. Administer oxygen if available. Contact medical help. If the person is not breathing, perform artificial respiration as taught in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training until medical help arrives. Ventilate the area. Investigate the source of carbon monoxide and make repairs.

Prevention:

• Install and maintain a working carbon monoxide detector inside the houseboat (remember, this won’t alert people to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide at locations outside the houseboat cabin, such as the swim deck).
   

• Make sure that all fuel-burning engines and appliances are properly installed, maintained, and operated.
   

• Educate all passengers about the signs, symptoms, and treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, especially if the boat has a rear swim deck or water platform.
   

• Watch children closely when they are playing on rear swim decks or water platforms for signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
   

• Swim and enjoy other activities away from areas where gasoline-powered engines vent their exhaust

If you or someone in your family has been injured in an incident involving a boat or personal water craft, contact us by completing our Case Evaluation form or simply call toll free 1-877-Traut-Firm. Consultation is free.  There is no fee unless and until you win your case.

The Traut Firm
"When You Mean Business"