Carbon Monoxide is a chemical compound of carbon and oxygen with a formula of CO. It is a colorless and
odorless gas which makes it hard to detect. It is about 3% lighter than air and is poisonous to most forms of life.
When inhaled, Carbon Monoxide combines with hemoglobin in the blood, preventing absorption of oxygen. This
can result in headaches, nausea, or fatigue followed by unconsciousness. Prolonged exposition to this harmful gas
can even result in death.
Carbon Monoxide is one of the most important industrial gases today because it provides more than twice the
heating value of carbon which it forms from. Almost 35% of air pollution is due to Carbon Monoxide because so
many things use, burn, or contain it. Things like furnaces and automobile exhausts form Carbon Monoxide by
quickly creating an environment with an insufficient air supply. Although anti- pollution devices intend to keep
Carbon Monoxide levels below 1%, as little as 1/1000 of a percent of Carbon Monoxide in air can produce
symptoms of poisoning.
Carbon Monoxide is just as dangerous in cigarettes as it is an individual gas. In fact, it has basically the same
effects, only over a period of time. Through smoking, Carbon Monoxide is inhaled with tar, nicotine, and many
other small bits of toxins. When it enters through the mouth, it spreads quickly throughout your body and skin.
There, it combines with hemoglobin in the blood, preventing absorption of oxygen. This causes smokers to run out
of breath quickly and fatigue. Also, Carbon Monoxide travels to the heart and lungs. It seeps into tiny pores
around them, making it a major factor in lung cancer and heart disease.
