Carbon monoxide is a poisonous and invisible gas emitted by various sources, with transportation being the main contributor. It can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal, and is harmful as it reduces oxygen supply to vital organs. Symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, and weakness.
Carbon monoxide emissions are produced by many different combustion processes and are particularly common in automobile exhausts. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that is quite poisonous. It is also known to be a major environmental pollutant. A carbon monoxide molecule is made up of a single carbon atom joined to a single oxygen atom, as opposed to the more common carbon dioxide, which is also produced in combustion reactions and is made up of a carbon atom joined to two of oxygen. Carbon monoxide is produced in preference to carbon dioxide in many partial combustion reactions when there is a limited supply of oxygen.
Carbon monoxide emissions come from a wide variety of residential, industrial, and transportation-related sources. Transportation is by far the number one source of carbon monoxide emissions. The incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons in the internal combustion engines of automobiles is responsible for a significant amount of carbon monoxide emitted into the air each day. Airplanes, boats, gasoline-powered equipment, and diesel-powered equipment also contribute significantly to the amount of carbon monoxide in the air.
There are also many residential sources of carbon monoxide emissions. Ovens, wood stoves, and gas stoves can raise your home’s carbon monoxide level. Water heaters, especially older ones, can and often have the same effect. Tobacco smoke can also contain carbon monoxide. Car exhausts in attached garages tend to increase the amount of household carbon monoxide, especially in the winter when people let their cars warm up for several minutes in the garage before driving them.
Many industrial plants produce a significant amount of carbon monoxide as a waste product. These carbon monoxide emissions are especially common in steel mills, smelters and oil refineries, as they all involve processes that release the toxic gas as a waste product. Some chemical plants also produce carbon monoxide as a waste product, while others produce it for industrial use as it is used in some industrial processes.
Carbon monoxide emissions can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal. The colorless and odorless nature of carbon monoxide makes it especially dangerous as it is impossible to detect without some type of carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide is harmful because it reduces the oxygen supply to the various vital organs of the body. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are often similar to the symptoms of the flu: headache, nausea, dizziness, lethargy and weakness. Other symptoms include confusion, disorientation and visual disturbances.
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