(Berlin) The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany (BfR) warns of a deadly threat in homes. Both the storage of wood pellets and wood chips, the highly toxic carbon monoxide may form. This is due to auto-oxidation processes in certain wood components that are triggered during the preparation of the wood by crushing, heating and drying. From unsaturated fatty acids, in addition to carbon monoxide (CO) are formed various aldehydes. CO is particularly insidious because it is colorless and odorless. At risk are not only the residents but also the maintenance personnel of heating systems. BfR deaths have been reported by people who had been in a pellet storage room.

Tips to avoid problems

Pellets and wood chips bearings must not be hermetically sealed. There should be a continuous ventilation to the outside. An air channel to occupied rooms of all kinds should not exist. Finally, it is important to install CO detectors in the middle of the room to eye height. Those detectors are already available for 40-50 EUR. Attaching a warning sign is not sufficient. Also likely short-term ventilation, the gas concentration does not decrease sufficiently.
At 800 ppm already occur in a short period of stay dizziness and nausea, at higher concentrations, unconsciousness.

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