The carbon monoxide level in the cool-room was tested and found to be in excess of 500 ppm. His co-worker also suffered mild headache, nausea and dizziness. Both were taken to the local hospital where they were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. Neither man suffered any residual effects. It is removed from the body, mainly unchanged, through the lungs.
Poisoning arises from depriving the tissues of oxygen and from the direct toxic effect of the gas.
Carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin in blood which would otherwise carry oxygen. It also impairs the release of oxygen from blood to tissues. Symptoms include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, difficulty in concentrating, and shortness of breath. Permanent brain and nerve damage or even death may result from severe poisoning. The Western Australian exposure standard for carbon monoxide in the workplace is 30 ppm over an 8 hour day.