Barbecue Poisoning Becomes a Growing Health Concern
As barbecue season approaches, health experts have warned the public about the dangers of barbecue poisoning brought about by toxic carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. What makes it more worrisome is the public's apathy on the risk despite the fact that CO poisoning causes thousands of hospital admissions annually.
Statistics indicate that four out of five people are unaware of the risk of barbecue poisoning. In fact, people are more concerned about other risks of barbecuing like garden fires, burns, child safety and drunken accidents. But the danger is real with 50 deaths registered every year in the U.K.
There are also 4,000 people rushed to the accident and emergency department of hospitals every year in that country, but the concern level isn't that high. This is because barbecue poisoning is a "silent killer" as the gas has no color, taste or smell, but having it in one's system can have fatal consequences.
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Once CO enters the bloodstream, it mixes with hemoglobin in red blood cells — the part of the blood that carries oxygen around the body. Symptoms include breathlessness, headaches, nausea, dizziness, collapse and loss of consciousness. This can become fatal once CO replaces the oxygen.
Safety experts deem it unwise to take newly used barbecue grills indoors, even if the charcoal flames have been doused with water as this continues to emit toxic carbon fuel. In 2011, a woman by the name of Hazel Woodhams was killed after prolonged CO inhalation while asleep.
According to boyfriend Roland Wessling, they went out camping to celebrate Hazel's 30th birthday. Just like any outdoor activity, camping isn't complete without a barbecue. After several hours of cooking, the British couple decided to place the barbecue grill at the porch area of their tent to protect it from the rain.
They went to sleep, not knowing that the CO accumulated to toxic levels. Roland felt nauseous when he woke up, but Hazel remained unconscious. It was learned later in the hospital she had high CO levels in her blood. The guy survived the ordeal, but his girlfriend wasn't as lucky.
