The menace of carbon monoxide has long been recognized in the operation of commercial motor vehicles. Colorless, odorless, and tasteless, carbon monoxide gives no warning. Exposure for one hour to only 15 parts of carbon monoxide to IO,OOO parts of air may cause collapse. Breathed in sufficient greater concentration, it causes death. Cases of poisoning are not confined to those who work around motors or other agencies. From a series of tests conducted by the Travelers Insurance Co. and the Cities Service Co., with the joint co6peration of the Motor Vehicle Department and the Department of Health of the State of Connecticut carbon monoxide was found to exist in the interior of private automobiles, generally varying in concentration with the mechanical condition and structure of the car. The new device for ascertaining the content in air is negligible in cost and very simple to construct, materials obtainable from a hardware and drug store. The method employed depends upon the conversion of carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide by combustion and the reaction of this carbon dioxide with an earth-alkali hydroxide, using phenolphthalein as an indicator. The Travelers will follow its usual policy of making the specifications and instructions available to anyone interested in promoting safety and the welfare of those who might be exposed to poisoning. According to J. B. FICKLEN, the inventor, the new detector permits tests to be made at greatly reduced cost. The simplicity of its construction is such that it can be operated by persons having limited knowledge of testing technique.
R. H. O.