In Nigeria of today where almost dead vehicles ply the roads forcefully and where every household has a generator due to bad supply of electricity,one has to be very honest that an average Nigerian will find it very difficult to avoid encountering Carbon-monoxide (CO). To a layman it is simply called a deadly gas.

Carbon monoxide is very poisonous gas. It is a colourless and odourless gas and hence its presence cannot be detected immediately. When inhaled, carbon monoxide readily combines with the haemoglobin of our blood. Haemoglobin, as you know, helps in carrying oxygen from longs to the tissues. Oxygen combines with haemoglobin to form oxy-haemoglobin. Similarly, CO combines with hemoglobin to form carboxyhaemoglobin.

The affinity of CO for haemoglobins much more (about 200 times) than that of oxygen. In the presence of CO, the oxygen carrying capacity of the hemoglobin decreases. The deficiency of oxygen in blood may cause headache, dizziness, cardiac and respiratory problems and even death. Because of this reason, it is dangerous to sleep in a closed room with a coke fire burning inside because burning of coke in an insufficient supply of oxygen produces a lot of carbon monoxide that can cause poisoning.

Familiar Sources :

Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion, present whenever fuel is burned without enough air (oxygen). It is produced by common home appliances, such as gas or oil furnaces, gas refrigerators, gas clothes dryers, gas ranges, gas water heaters or space heaters, fireplaces, charcoal grills, and wood burning stoves. Fumes from automobiles and gas-powered lawn mowers may also contain carbon monoxide and can enter a home through walls or doorways if an engine is left running in an attached garage.

Other sources include fire places, industrial processes, cigars, smoldering fires, etc.

Fortunately the CO combusts if it reaches another part of the combustion zone if the temperature is still high enough and there is sufficient oxygen.

Note: With cigars and cigarettes the CO produced is inhaled by the smoker and combines with the smoker's blood to form carboxyhemoglobin. This removes the CO from second hand smoke.

Conclusively,let us try as much as possible to avoid CO.