E-News – Safer Boating: CO Poisoning Prevention

5th Update / March 1, 2006
/ National Case Listing Updated
The listing of boat-related CO poisonings has been updated and posted on the Department of Interior website ( ) in January 2006. Since the previous update (dated October 2004), the number of known cases has grown from 571 to 607.
Legislative Action:
The state of Washington joins others that are moving towards regulations to restrict teak and body surfing on recreational vehicles. Washington Senate Bill 6364 was introduced in remembrance of Denise Colbert and Jenda Jones, both of whom drowned as a result of CO poisoning while boating on LakeTapps. To learn about the status of the bill, access the following web address:

Double Angel Request - Coast Guard Action
Marine shower that uses hot water from an operating propulsion engine
In August 2005, the Double Angel CO Awareness Committee contacted the US Coast Guard expressing concern about a ski boat shower device that had been associated with fatal and nonfatal poisonings in two incidents. The full letter will be posted in the CO Archive section of the Double Angel Foundation website.
The marine shower uses warm water from the operating propulsion engine. When this shower is on a large boat, there is room for a hot water reservoir - thus the user can shut off the engine and still have a substantial supply of warm water. But on smaller boats, such as ski boats, there is no reservoir – thus, if continuous warm water is to be provided, the propulsion engine must operate while the user stands near the boat transom, usually on the swim platform.
The shower system is mentioned in investigative records for two poisoning incidents in which one person died, and four others were severely poisoned. In 1995, at Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area (UT), 4 boys using such a shower were found unconscious on their boat as a result of CO poisoning. Three of the boys were hospitalized and the 4thboy died. In July 2001, a 4-year-old girl on LakePowell stopped breathing as a result of CO poisoning while sitting on the boat’s swim platform playing with this shower system. She was air transported for hospital treatment and survived. (…..more on page 2)
/ The Double Angel letter summarized these poisonings and related air sampling information that had been collected by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. From the Double Angel letter:
“The combined body of information specific to this device, as well as the overall information about CO poisonings related to occupancy of the swim platform of ski boats, clearly show that use of this device poses an extreme and unacceptable risk of death and injury to boaters. The information also demonstrates that the manufacturer/s and suppliers of the device clearly do not understand the issue of CO poisonings related to occupancy of the rear of the boat concurrent with propulsion engine operation.
We are asking that the US Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety address the NIOSH recommendation that portable shower devices that operate using hot water from an operating propulsion engine should be evaluated for potential recall. We are also asking that you immediately contact manufacturers and distributors of the device to inform them of the risk of using such a device in an area that has been documented to be rich in CO.”
The Coast Guard presented information about the marine shower at the National Marine Manufacturers Association Boating Industry Risk Management Councilmeeting on October 20, 2005, and identified Heater Craft Marine as the manufacturer. (The presentation will be posted in the CO Archive section of the Double Angel website.)
On December 22, 2005, the Coast Guard notified the manufacturer of the followingpotential safety hazards for recreational boaters who use theshower system directly connected to the engine's raw water open coolingsystem:
(a) For a gasoline-powered boat, a carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning safetyhazard exists when the user is near the stern or on the boat's swimplatform while the engine is running.
(b) For a propeller driven boat, a propeller injury hazard exists if theuser is showering on the swim platform while the boat's engine is running,because the boat could be shifted into gear (forward or reverse) such thatthe person might fall overboard; and
(c) A scalding hazard exists while the engine is running if the user doesnotproperly adjust the water temperature before use.
The Coast Guardasked the manufacturer to respond to the following questions: Can the shower system products, wheninstalled according tomanufacturer's directions lead to an increased riskof CO poisoning, propeller injury, or scalding? What action should betaken, and by whom, to notify the public?
On January 17, 2006, the manufacturerresponded by telephone and subsequent e-mail, stating that the company would change all of their installation instructions to omit the hotand cold water hoses being connected to the engine along with additionalCO warnings being printed on the material.
What remains, however, are many showers out there currently in use on ski boats. If you have such a shower, and allow it to be used while the propulsion engine operates, you risk serious CO poisoning of boat occupants near the stern, on the swim platform, or within a canopy or cabin of the boat under certain circumstances.
For more information, contact:
Dan McCormick, U.S.C.G. Headquarters,
or by phone at(202) 267-6894
/ Coast Guard/ABYC Carbon Monoxide Meeting
Theregular semiannual meeting bringing together interested parties to get an overview of progress in marine CO control research took place on February 17th at the International Boat Builders Exposition in Miami. Agenda items for the most recent meeting included:
•Express Cruisers CO Testing
•Continued Testing of Westerbeke Safe-CO™ Marine Generators
•Status of Saltwater Testing of Propulsion Engine Catalysts
Minutes from the meeting will be available from ABYC at
END