Talk:Carbon monoxide

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"It binds very strongly to the iron atom in hemoglobin, (the principal oxygen-carrying compound in blood); this renders the hemoglobin incapable of taking up and releasing oxygen."

Wouldn't it be more precise to say : "It has stronger affinity for the iron binding site in hemoglobin, (the principal oxygen-carrying compound in blood); this renders the hemoglobin's oxygen transporting function practically ineffective."

QUESTION: at what rate does CO leave the bloodstream? To what extent is carbon monoxide "poisoning" cumulative...like, say, lead poisoning?

The listed bond length in the article is incorrect. Any college student silly enough to use this article as a reference for their laboratories deserves the grade they receive, which will not be a good one.

Quite curiously, Mr./Ms. Anonymouse didn't put in his/her thoughts of what the answer should be, so that we could grade it. Would it be farther off than what's here now? Just wondering. If a student were trying to measure this, and used the Wikipedia article to check their work, is it likely that they'd be led astray? Pretty unlikely. Gene Nygaard 03:33, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Yet the question still has not been answered. I work around older IC Engines without Catalytic converters. Even with good ventilation there is still some level of CO in the area. Without hyperbaric treatment how long does it take low levels of CO bonding to dissipate. Ie. If one were exposed to an atmosphere of 20 PPM for 3 or 4 hours daily for 3 or 4 days, how long should one wait before again exposing ones self to those levels? (My work around old engines is a hobby, I can take extended breaks doing other things between times that I require them to actually be running for testing.) My Google searches have not yet turned up a substantial answer. [Gerald Livingston] 65.170.133.234 19:25, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

My understanding of CO poisoning is that it permanently (or near as dammit) binds to haemoglobin, writing that particular molecule off to Oxygen for the rest of its lifetime. That is to say, the effects are cumulative (which is what makes it so deadly). This being said, the red blood cells in your body are in a constant state of renewal, with a ballpark figure of a completely new set of blood cells every 6 weeks, so it's not as bad as all that. (A chemistry student, Cambridge University) 128.232.242.158 22:04, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Your understanding is correct; the compound it forms is called carboxyhemoglobin, and it doesn't help your circulatory system one bit. Ruff ^{Bark away!}

Contents 1 holocaust 2 Carbon monoxide poisoning 3 Images 4 Sources 5 density 6 Neurotransmitter 7 Confusion 8 How do detectors work? 9 Rainbow image?? 10 Edit to toxicity

[edit] holocaust

I read somewhere that 'monoxide gas' was used in the holocaust. Does anyone know if it was this stuff or a different 'monoxide'

    It's carbon monoxide.

thanks tommylommykins 14:43, July 18, 2005 (UTC)

They also often used hydrogen cyanide (or possibly cyanogen). Anthony Appleyard 15:19, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Erm.. It wasn't always like that, Zyklon B was mostly used. Kilo-Lima 21:03, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Carbon monoxide poisoning

Anybody object if I split that into a separate article? --Arcadian 02:38, 20 July 2005 (UTC)

Please do, but clearly mark the link. That's what I came here looking for actually!

Okay, I've split it out into Carbon monoxide poisoning (which was formerly a redirect). --Arcadian 17:30, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Images

What causes the two hotspots in CO-concentration over AFrica and South America?

Wildfires.--NHSavage 16:35, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sources

Natural CO sources are NOT volcanoes, but oceans and vegetation. See http://www.igac.noaa.gov/newsletter/22/natural.php

[edit] density

8.0 kg/cm³, cannot be correct, no natural stuff on Earth is so heavy!

[edit] Neurotransmitter

Shouldnt it be mentioned as well that it's a gas neurotransmitter somewhere? -- Random viewer...

[edit] Confusion

"Under ordinary conditions, it is less dense than air. During fires, it accumulates on the ground, so that if poisoning causes loss of consciousness, the amount of carbon monoxide inhaled increases and so fatality is radically increased." This seems a little confusing to me, does the density of CO become higher than that of air as the temperature increases? Terri G 17:59, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] How do detectors work?

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. This article has been tagged since January 2007.

How do CO detectors work? I'm told there are "electrochemical" and "MOS" varieties. -- Beland 05:08, 18 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rainbow image??

I'm curious: Why the rainbow image next to the space-filling model of carbon dioxide? Ruff ^{Bark away!} 21:14, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

That is the key - it tells you what colours represent what densities of CO MilleauRekiir 15:27, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edit to toxicity

Edited toxicity - removed the blurb about hemoglobin, and linked to the hemoglobin article. That does a better job, methinks. =^^= --Dennis The TIger 22:58, 12 March 2007 (UTC)