It was more than 10 years ago now that I wrote a column about the dangers of carbon monoxide. Too many innocent hotel guests have been killed by it. In the first annual Green Lodging Survey last year, Greenview and Green Lodging News asked survey participants, “Are tests for carbon monoxide and radon regularly conducted?” Globally, 52 percent said yes. In the U.S., 60 percent said yes. While the question was not 100 percent specific to carbon monoxide, it does indicate there are many who do not monitor for unsafe levels of carbon monoxide.
On April 1 this month, a teenage boy died and 13 others were injured from a carbon monoxide leak at an indoor pool at a Quality Inn & Suites hotel in Niles, Mich. Among the injured were other teens as well as three police officers, two hotel employees and another adult. According to media reports, dangerous levels of carbon monoxide built up at the pool heater and were detected in high quantities in other areas of the hotel. The ventilation system on the heater had issues and was not functioning properly. Carbon monoxide levels were at 800 parts per million, 16 times above the prescribed safe level.
“When we first went in, all the monitors went off. I have never seen anything like this in 30 years,” Niles Fire Capt. Don Wise told NBC affiliate WNDU. Wise said the hotel’s pool room had no carbon monoxide detectors “to the best of our knowledge.” I did a quick check online. The cost of a carbon monoxide detector? Around $20 to $50. Carbon monoxide detectors with meters are also easily available for a reasonable price.
Most States Do Not Require Detectors
According to a CNN report, the hotel was not required to have carbon monoxide detectors because it was built prior to December 1, 2009. According to Michigan building code, all new buildings constructed after December 1, 2009 must contain carbon monoxide detectors.
Existing buildings, like the hotel, had until April 20 to install carbon monoxide detectors—certainly not of good comfort to the victims’ families. Again, according to CNN, just 13 states including Michigan require installation of carbon monoxide detectors in hotels and motels.
There is a lot of information available online about carbon monoxide safety. For those of you who do not know, carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that is produced when a fuel is burned. When too much carbon monoxide is in the air, it can replace the oxygen in red blood cells and can lead to tissue damage or death. Highly vulnerable spots include indoor pool areas, boiler rooms and parking garages. Dangerous amounts of carbon monoxide can accumulate as a result of poor installation, poor maintenance, or failure or damage to an appliance in service. It can also build up when rooms are poorly ventilated.
About two and one-half years ago, the American Hotel & Lodging Assn. organized a webinar on carbon monoxide safety. I received a press release about it. Of course it is certainly a topic worth revisiting as often as possible—by associations, companies and certainly at the property level. It is sad that it has taken another person’s death to remind us to be vigilant about the air quality in our hotels.
Got comments? I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
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