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To honor Gene Hackman, check your carbon monoxide detector(s). Today. [1]
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Date: 2025-02-27
As you’ve doubtless heard, the great actor Gene Hackman was found dead in his home, along with his wife and their family dog. New Mexico authorities have ruled out foul play, and according to one news report I heard, they don’t believe a gas leak or carbon monoxide was to blame.
I’d bet even money that they’re wrong on that last point. The description points strongly to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
Eight years ago there was an almost identical incident in my hometown of Berkeley, California, where a couple in their 30’s was found dead in their apartment, along with their two cats. Then, too, Berkeley police initially ruled out CO, until the medical examiner eventually labeled it as the culprit.
CO is perhaps the most insidious of all killers. Not only does the gas have no odor, but it can suffocate you without you realizing it. You can die from carbon dioxide suffocation, too (nearly 2,000 people in Cameroon died from a natural release of the gas in 1986), but with C02 at least you know you’re suffocating. We expel this gas when we breathe, so your body doesn’t want to inhale it. CO, however, bonds with hemoglobin more readily than oxygen does, so you may not realize anything’s wrong. If you’re awake, you might start feeling light-headed or nauseous, or you might just go to sleep and never wake up. If the exposure happens when you’re already asleep, you’re pretty much done for.
The most common source of CO is a defective furnace burning natural gas or propane. Combustion of these gases creates a small amount of CO as part of the exhaust. For this reason, the furnace doesn’t heat the air in your home directly. Instead, your HVAC (heating, ventiliation, and air conditioning) system passes the air through a device called a heat exchanger, which is just a series of metal pipes above the burner. The fire warms these pipes, which heat the air inside, which is then circulated throughout the building. The actual combustion exhaust is vented outside though a separate system, so the two (ostensibly) never mix.
Like all metal devices (except maybe those made of gold), heat exchangers can corrode over time due to moisture in the atmosphere. If they rust through completely, combustion exhaust containing CO can mix with the building air, and because of the readiness of hemoglobin to bond with the stuff, even small concentrations can be deadly.
Given that low temps in Sante Fe are in the 20s and 30s this week, it’s reasonable to conclude that, if the Hackmans had a gas furnace, it was in use when they died.
If you’re wondering how to check your own heat exchanger, well, it involves partially dismantling your furnace, so you’re probably not going to do it. Even if you could, it’s not the only source of danger. A blockage in the exhaust system can also cause a feedback into the building envelope. In the case of the tragic Berkeley couple mentioned above, the investigation was inconclusive, but concluded that the most likely source was outside their apartment. Apparently, one of their neighbors was using a laser cutter that produces CO a byproduct, which got sucked into their apartment.
Fortunately, there’s a way to protect yourself against all such eventualities, and it’s legally mandated in most jurisdictions (until Trump and Elon get rid of it). That solution is a carbon monoxide detector, like the one pictured above. A CO detector is not the same as a smoke detector, and one is not a substitute for the other, though there are combo units that perform both functions. I’m responsible for building maintenance for a chain of preschools, and California law requires a working CO detector in each and every classroom. (Though not the offices, strangely. I guess they aren’t concerned about the grownups?)
These detectors are designed to last a decade, and there’s a label where I write the installation/expiration date when I install one. Current models (and, I think, the only kind now available in California) contain a 10-year lithium battery, which is brilliant. I never need to replace batteries, because by the time the battery runs down, it’s time to replace the entire unit anyway.
In the memory of a fine actor, take a minute to check the following today:
Do you have a CO detector on each floor of your house?
Is it less than 10 years old? If the installer didn’t write the date, consider replacing it with a new 10-year lithium powered unit.
Does it shatter your eardrums when you press the test button? If not, replace the (disposable) batteries, or the entire unit.
If you’re a renter, inform your landlord/lady of the deficiency. In most jurisdictions (though maybe not Texas) this is their responsibility.
(Needless to say, this is another good argument for phasing out fossil fuels. The one type of building that’s exempt from the CO detector requirement is one with no gas appliances.)
And one final note about that poor Berkeley couple. The husband’s mother sued the landlord for negligent homicide, and probably won a big settlement. Even though the HVAC equipment was in good working order, the floor they lived on was missing a detector, in violation of state law.
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