Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, 1944 - A tenement family in a windowless room lies dead from lack of oxygen. Carbon monoxide from a faulty heating system was most likely the cause of this tragedy. Fossil fuel-burning boilers, furnaces, water heaters, fireplaces, and parking garages are the major sources of carbon monoxide emission in homes and apartments. The gas is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and non-irritating, so poisoning can occur with few symptoms, especially when sleeping. New York City now has a Carbon Monoxide Detector law requiring installation of one device within each dwelling unit. The August 2002 Journal of the American Medical Association reported that about 2,000 deaths a year occur in the Unites States due to carbon monoxide suffocation.






