Carbon Monoxide: The Unnoticed Poison of the 21st Century
Carbon monoxide is a major cause of acute and too often lethal poisonings in industrialized as well as developing countries. Recent findings also showed that chronic exposure to carbon monoxide can result in various medical disorders. In spite of this, carbon monoxide remains a largely unnoticed poison. A satellite meeting to the VIII International Congress of Toxicology was held at the University of Burgundy (Dijon, France) on 3-4 July 1998 to review the most recent data on the unnoticed toxicity of carbon monoxide. During this meeting organized jointly by the International Society of the Built Environment, the French Society of Toxicology and the (French) Association for the Prevention of Air Pollution, over 40 papers were presented by health professionals from 15 countries.
According to a survey by the French Network of Public Health, the number of acute carbon monoxide poisonings is approximately 8000 yearly in France with 400 fatalities (Que Β΄nel, Paris). The estimated incidence of carbon monoxide poisonings was in the range of 11 and 14/100 000 inhabitants from the southern and northern parts of France, respectively (Fabre, Toulouse and Mathieu-Nolf, Lille). Data presented by the Que
Β΄bec Poison Centre (Prevost, Que Β΄bec) suggested a lower incidence, whereas data from Korea showed a much higher incidence with over 1 million poisonings yearly from a total population of 28 million (Beak, Seoul). The role of malfunctioning heating systems, inadequate ventilation, or inappropriate cooking techniques was stressed. Carbon monoxide is also an environmental pollutant, even though measured levels in major French cities have decreased steadily over the years, thanks probably to the wider use of catalytic converters. In certain situations, such as major crossroads, road tunnels, underground car parks, measured levels can be quite high, which seemingly do not result in significant human exposure as evidenced by a survey of Turkish traffic policeman (Atimlay, Ankara).
The acute toxicity of carbon monoxide is well recog-