NIST to Study Hazards of Portable Generators
March 12, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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To help quantify the dangers of improperly used portable, gasoline-powered generators and evaluate possible technical solutions to the problem, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enlisted the help of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The CPSC recently mandated explicit labels warning consumers of the danger of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning associated with operating a portable generator in or near a home.
While observing that generators are useful in emergencies, the commission warned consumers not to use a generator inside homes, garages, crawl spaces, sheds or similar areas, even when using fans or opening doors and windows for ventilation.
Deadly levels of odorless and invisible CO can quickly build up in those areas and can linger for hours, even after the generator has shut off. According to experts, it can even be deadly to use a generator outside if its exhaust stream is too close to a home's open doors, windows or air vents.
The commission received reports that at least 65 people died from CO poisoning associated with portable generators in 2006.
To learn more about the consequences of operating a gasoline-powered portable generator in the attached garage of a home, NIST researchers will collect data that quantifies CO infiltration into a sensor-equipped house during different weather and house conditions.
Researchers will look at effects of variable outdoor temperatures and wind speeds, as well as different garage door positions and the influence of indoor heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. They then will attempt to duplicate experimental results with a model of the house created in CONTAM, NIST's indoor air quality modeling software.
A computer model, validated by test data, will allow NIST and CPSC staff to predict generator-related CO concentrations and oxygen-depletion rates that could be found in various types of homes under a broad range of conditions.
Manufacturers interested in technologies to modify gasoline-powered generators to address this hazard should also find the emission information useful. NIST expects to report to CPSC on its study in mid-2009.
Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).