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Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

71–80 of 228 posts

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#71

I lit a candle last night with a closed window and door. Then it hit me that there is no way there is no CO in this room. Immediately opened my window. After hearing this story, I am never sleeping with my window closed.

I'm not sure about candles, but a decently oxygenated open flame (e.g. your stove without a pan on it) emits essentially no CO.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#72

Article and headline are incorrect: "Carbon monoxide poisoning has also been ruled out."[1][2][3] Both MIT grads; one a founder of gaming company Glug Glug[2] and co-author of game Shard[4] 1. http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/01/25/berkeley-toxicology-t... 2. http://kotaku.com/game-developers-mourn-sudden-passing-of-ex... 3. http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Two-people-found-dead-Be... 4. http://shard-game.com/

The articles you linked are older (24th & 25th) than the article from the headline ( January 27, 2017 2:15 PM ). Further investigation and toxicology reports revealed carbon monoxide (fixed) poisoning. It appears the initial statements ruling out carbon monoxide poisoning were in error.

Would a laser cutter cause CO2 poisoning?

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it's within hours. A simple google search will show you that.

He indicates that the CO poisoning could have been gradual. This is not mutually exclusive with faster poisoning.

Not the point. OP (it could be a woman) said that it takes weeks to unbind when in fact the half life is 74 mins.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#74
post #44

"3D laser printer" probably means a Glowforge. Nobody else calls them that. Their documentation says "Lasers normally require some ventilation via a small tube out a nearby window. Our optional Air Filter that sits under Glowforge and ventilates using HEPA filters and charcoal, meaning no outside ventilation is required." That won't do much if you cut something that emits carbon monoxide when heated. That includes so…

Yeah, in my lab we prohibited cutting anything with chlorine, including PVC and polycarbonate.

The results are really bad anyways, it melts and burns. I'm curious though, can you get good cutting of polycarbonate using an inert gas shield? That would be interesting.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think CO doesn't get unstuck from hemoglobin at all. 2 weeks sounds about right, in that that would be the body's mean replacement time for a hemoglobin molecule.

The normal half-life of carboxyhemoglobin, when the patient is breathing room air, is 240 to 360 minutes (4-6 hours). The half-life of COHb can be decreased to 80 minutes with the administration of 100% oxygen.

It can be brought down even faster with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric chambers are reasonably common, due to usage in both (SCUBA) diving related medicine and various therapies for wound care.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/non-...

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#76
Everyone should read this, and forward to their loved ones. This is very close to home (not literally) because it could happen to anyone, and is something that many people do not consider. Have up-to-date CO detectors, do not operate large appliances without considering their byproducts. Literally, the environment matters more than anything, and this acts as a grave reminder of this. Take care of the environment, especially the tiny one in your home, as it could save your life.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it's within hours. A simple google search will show you that.

He indicates that the CO poisoning could have been gradual. This is not mutually exclusive with faster poisoning.

Leaving the house for a few hours a day would be sufficient to "reset" the COHb levels in the blood.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#78
I've always been wary of 3d printers and laser cutters because of indoor air pollution & VOCs. Though I didn't realize the amount they put out and the cumulative effects of CO as mentioned in the comments here.

My sense is that laser cutters should be required to come with CO detectors, and more generally we should be looking to add the appropriate chemical detectors to 3d printers and laser printers to warn of other chemical output issues. These home machines are often advertised for use in confined spaces (size is one way manufacturers compete), which is why I think it should be regulated - its not like someone took a commercial machine home with them. Laser cutters are a fairly large capital expense and bolting on a CO detector is very inexpensive (probably Safety regulations are usually written in blood. Having two deaths with such a small # of these machines out there suggests there are probably others who have cumulative CO effects already. Very sad, my heart goes out to the friends and family of Roger & Valerie.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#79

I lit a candle last night with a closed window and door. Then it hit me that there is no way there is no CO in this room. Immediately opened my window. After hearing this story, I am never sleeping with my window closed.

Getting a CO detector seems like a simpler solution than keeping your window open forever.

Re: Carbon monoxide poisoning from 3D laser printer may have killed Berkeley couple

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The articles you linked are older (24th & 25th) than the article from the headline ( January 27, 2017 2:15 PM ). Further investigation and toxicology reports revealed carbon monoxide (fixed) poisoning. It appears the initial statements ruling out carbon monoxide poisoning were in error.

CO or CO2? Both are possible, CO2 poisoning is quite horrible though, whereas CO poisoning may go unnoticed.

Yeah really -- I can't imagine you could die of CO2 poisoning without noticing in time to GTFO. I've sucked a lungful of CO2 and it was awful.
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