By KATY HART
Carbon monoxide, the most common and often lethal type of poisoning in the United States, has no telltale odor, taste or color. But new high-quality detectors can help ensure gas problems don't go unnoticed.
The carbon monoxide detectors of earlier years were expensive, hand-held devices. They were first available to consumers in mid-1993, said Eric Olson, manager of wholesale and utility sales for Nighthawk Systems, a manufacturer of carbon monoxide detectors.
'It's been only a very short period of time that these products have been available to the public to buy and protect themselves,' he said.
As awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning has grown, the number of detectors sold has increased, Olson said.
'The roughly estimated sales for all North American manufacturers was 2.1 million units in 1994 and 6 million units in 1995. It's predicted that sales will reach 8 million units in 1996,' he said.
Sales of all models of carbon monoxide detectors this fall have been tremendous, said John Miles, head of hardware and tools at Eagle Hardware and Garden in Orem.
'We get in a lot of detectors and even had some extra displays,' Miles said. 'We thought we had in too many, but then we sold out and had to order more.'
Publicity about injuries from carbon monoxide in the Utah Valley area might have contributed to the high sales, Miles said.
Olson believes the importance of carbon monoxide detectors shouldn't be overlooked.
'You can't put a cost on a life,' he said. 'We even have business with the military. They are realizing that this is a potential problem, and they are trying to protect the people enlisted to protect us.'
Nighthawk Systems has also sold detectors to the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois for use in public gathering places, lecture halls and other places of that nature, Olson said.
The cities of Chicago; St. Louis; Brook Park, Ohio; and Kingston, N.Y., have all passed legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in various public buildings, Olson said.
'There is also pending legislation of most importance in New Jersey,' he said. 'The legislation would require statewide detectors, whereas other ordinances passed have been primarily for the cities. If the New Jersey legislation passes, it will be a milestone.'
The New Jersey ordinance would also require carbon monoxide detectors for single-family dwellings, and not just public facilities, Olson added.
The price for a Nighthawk detector, which has been rated No. 1 by Consumer Reports for the past two years, averages about $39. Other detectors are priced at about $30, Olson said.
Not all detectors are equally reliable, he said. A listing from the Underwriters Laboratory on the detector indicates the device has met standards for quality.
Olson also warned against buying detectors with replacable parts. The price of replacements over time can top the price of the original detector.
A digital display on the detector can indicate whether the amounts of carbon monoxide gas in the air are dangerous or fairly insignificant, Olson said.
'People then won't automatically panic and call 911 when their alarm goes off. They can make decisions based on the readings,' he said.
A detector that can plug into an outlet and has a good warranty is also useful, Olson said. Nighthawk systems is also designing a detector with a battery back-up.