The workshop's objectives address initiatives across the UMES capacity areas of Youth and Family Development, Natural Resources and Community Vitality. Furthermore, the workshop is designed to promote economic development and to encourage civic engagement. Cold weather indicates that it is time to issue the wintertime carbon monoxide health advisory. In addition, many more people experience flu-like symptoms from moderate CO exposure. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a serious health threat, especially in the winter months.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that results from combustion appliances that burn fuel.
Each winter, tragic accidents occur when people are exposed to lethal levels of indoor CO from improperly vented or leaking furnaces and fireplaces. Even at the low, below-lethal levels, exposure to CO can cause headaches, nausea, fatigue and heart pain. Carbon monoxide has a toxic effect on humans in that it replaces oxygen in red blood cells, therefore depriving heart and brain tissue of enough oxygen to function properly. Extended exposure to high levels of CO can result in permanent heart and brain damage, and even in death. Those most susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning include infants, young children, fetuses, elderly people, and patients with heart and respiratory diseases.