Bill sent to Doyle's desk

Legislation calls for Carbon monoxide detectors

By: Timothy Langton

Posted: 3/31/08

Statewide mandates don't always result in big changes it seems.

Senate Bill 289, which would require public places to install carbon monoxide detectors, is making its way to the desk of Gov. Jim Doyle after passing both the state Senate and state Assembly. If approved, buildings such as apartments, rooming houses, hotels, children's homes or dormitories would need to install carbon monoxide detectors.

But there might not be a need for such changes here at UW-Eau Claire, said Peter Rejto, assistant director for budget and physical plant operations.

Rejto said the university will look at the bill's language if it is passed, but there isn't a pressing need for carbon monoxide detectors in the residence halls.

"We don't have any combustibles in our dorms," Rejto said.

Carbon monoxide is an undetectable toxic gas produced by incomplete combustion in fuel-burning devices such as motor vehicles, gas-powered furnaces and portable generators, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since steam generated from the power plant on campus is used to heat the residence halls, there is no combustible source in the buildings that could cause a carbon monoxide leak, Rejto said.

The university may indeed not have to comply with the bill. According to the bill's language, the installation requirement does not apply under some circumstances, including "where the building has no attached garage and no fuel-burning appliances."

If the university still was required to install the detectors, Rejto said the same processes used to check and maintain smoke detectors in the residence halls would apply to the carbon monoxide detectors.

"Any equipment we have in our halls ... we have routine maintenance (for)," he said.

The bill passed unanimously through the state Senate on Jan. 31. Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), who voted for the bill, did not return phone calls seeking comment on her support for the bill.

Headache, nausea, dizziness or confusion are the common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the CDC. There were 79 unintentional, non-fire related carbon monoxide poisonings in Wisconsin from 1999 to 2004, according to a CDC study published in Dec. 2007.

Sophomore Brooke Jewell said the bill is a good idea. It is important to have carbon monoxide detectors in public places due to the unseen nature of the deadly gas, she said.

"(The bill) is good for safety reasons," Jewell said, adding her house back home has a carbon monoxide detector installed. "It's not something like fire ... you don't know if it's there."

Despite these sentiments, Rejto said the bill will likely have little effect on the university.

"I don't see it as being functional in any of our buildings."