Improved Carbon Monoxide Sensor for Occupational Use

June 16, 1999

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and at the Quantum Group Inc. (QGI) in San Diego have developed a new lightweight and inexpensive carbon monoxide sensor and monitoring system which is more accurate than the personal CO monitors currently available on the market. "About 19,000 accidental carbon monoxide poisonings were reported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers in 1995," said Michael Apte, a scientist in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, "but very little is known about the actual extent and distribution of carbon monoxide exposures in the United States. Five hundred to a thousand accidental deaths a year are attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning, and it's the number one cause of unintentional poisoning in the US."