Carbon monoxide (CO) is well known as “the silent killer” and is responsible for the deaths of over 430 people per year in the USA according to the QuickStats website.

Over 100 students and seven staff members were sent to hospitals after a carbon monoxide leak which took place at Horace Mann Elementary in South Chicago, according to DNAinfo which is local news source for Chicago and New York. CPS and fire officials reported that there were no major health problems with the students.

The concern from many was if there were any carbon monoxide detectors in the school building or not. There were detectors in the school and teachers reported that several of them went off. Yet, the fire department was not contacted until another two hours later.

Not all schools have CO detectors, but it is a national requirement to have smoke and fire detectors. LNE is one of the many schools that do not have CO detectors, and for students this may seem scary. Carbon Monoxide is a colorless and tasteless gas which is produced from the burning of fossil fuels.

Carbon monoxide affects the human body when it enters into the bloodstream through respiration. When CO is inhaled, it attaches to hemoglobin which carries oxygen to various organs in the body. The CO then forms a COHb molecule. COHb reduces the ability of the blood to carry that oxygen to vital organs by preventing the oxygen molecule from attaching to hemoglobin.

At anytime there can be a leak of CO like the incident at Horace Mann Elementary. Devin Rutt who is an LNE freshman says, “Having CO detectors in all schools would be a really rad and safe thing because then people would know when to leave.” Being able to exit sooner would leave the chance of having serious health issues from CO.