Carbon Monoxide

The Senate has tentatively approved legislation that would require landlords to install carbon monoxide detectors in rental homes and apartments by 2010. The bill, which passed Wednesday by a vote of 47-1, also would authorize the state's Building Code Council to study how detectors should be installed in new homes or apartments. Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland and the bill's sponsor, said the legislation seeks to make the detectors as common as smoke detectors, which have been required in rental properties since 1996. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless fuel byproduct that can lead to death within minutes of exposure. Seventy-eight people died accidentally from carbon monoxide poisoning from 2000 through 2005 in North Carolina. A final Senate vote could come as soon as today. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6/25/08).