Officials
investigate Lake Pleasant carbon monoxide poisonings
Associated
Press
LAKE
PLEASANT – Public safety officials believe carbon monoxide
poisoning at Lake Pleasant is likely a serious problem,
despite a recent federal study that found no apparent health
hazard there from the odorless gas.
Officials
said two poisonings in the past week at the popular lake
illustrate the dangers posed by the
gas which is also found in the exhaust of internal combustion
engines.
On
Sunday, two women, ages 19 and 20, became ill while swimming
near a number of boats in Humbug Cove at the far northern
end of the lake, said Howard Munding, Peoria’s fire marshal.
They were pulled from the water by off‑duty firefighters
and taken to a Phoenix hospital for treatment. The women
are expected to make a full recovery.
The
highest levels of the gas are often found at Humbug Cove,
a popular party spot where boaters gather in large numbers
and idle their engines.
“At
any given time, there can be as many as hundreds of boats
in there,” Munding said. “They go in there, tie up their
boats and leave them running so they can have their blenders
and radios.”
Members
of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Lake Patrol are conducting
their own informal survey to see if there are more victims
of carbon monoxide poisoning.
In
addition, the Arizona Department of Health Services also
plans to release carbon monoxide data it collected from
the lake over the July 4 weekend.
Sheriff’s
Sgt. Wayne Lupinski said he thinks the results will prove
that a 2004 report by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services is wrong. The department’s report contends
there is no carbon monoxide hazard at the lake.
“My
belief is that the problem may be more widespread than we’re
aware of,” said Lupinski, a member of the Maricopa County
Sheriff’s Lake Patrol.
Symptoms
of carbon monoxide poisoning such as headaches and altered
levels of consciousness mimic symptoms of sun exposure,
Lupinski said.
The
only way to tell if someone is suffering from carbon monoxide
poisoning is through blood analysis. The Peoria Fire Department,
which responds to lake emergencies, has a machine on loan
that measures blood carbon‑monoxide levels.
But
when that machine is not available, the only option is for
a hospital to test the blood.
