Family of four found dead in Tulum?

[DandyDon]

Believe it or not but we had our CO2 detectors read 2-4 ppm in outdid air on the dock.

You can buy CO2 detectors for some technical work. Carbon dioxide is not a serious threat as long as the O2 levels are safe. I would never bother.

Did you mean Carbon Monoxide, CO? Typos happen but the subject is technical enough to warrant care so as to avoid confusion. The terms are not at all interchangeable. Many US cities often report atmospheric CO levels in that range so I would not be at all surprised to see such so close to Melgar.

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Yes my mistake...CO detectors

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Thanks for the correction

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the correction

Thanks for your courteous reply. It's a pet peeve of mine, as I feel that carbon monoxide is severely underestimated in general life and diving in particular, so as we work to try to educate each other - we need to avoid confusion of details.

 

[KathyV]

It appears that the family were killed by a natural gas leak, the authorities suspect either the water heater or the gas stove.

Bodies of Iowa family found dead in Mexico to return to US this week

 

[Kimela]

I don't know if my adult-aged children would recognize the smell of gas (or the scent used by the industry). If this happens while you're sleeping you have no chance - but if it happens while awake you need to be able to identify the smell as "irregular". A 12 and 7 year old wouldn't have had any idea there was a problem. This is so sad.

 

[DandyDon]

It appears that the family were killed by a natural gas leak...

It doesn't actually say that. The translation we're getting is "asphyxiation by toxic gas" as the authorities await test results. I don't know if natural gas (methane) is available in the area, or if LP gas (propane) is used for all flammable gas needs?

I also don't know if either a methane or propane leak into a condo unit is actually very toxic unless it replaces most of the oxygen in a unit? The common risk with such risk is ignition and explosion. I think it takes extremely high concentrations of either flammable gas to be toxic, whereas, carbon monoxide can be so at much lower concentrations. CO is the biggest risk overall, but the authorities do not seem to be ready to be specific.

I don't know if my adult-aged children would recognize the smell of gas (or the scent used by the industry). If this happens while you're sleeping you have no chance - but if it happens while awake you need to be able to identify the smell as "irregular". A 12 and 7 year old wouldn't have had any idea there was a problem. This is so sad.

That's another possibility. They could have shrugged it off as "This part of Mexico stinks." It's a rotten egg smell from an additive called mercaptan that could have been missed or misunderstood? Methane and propane are both odorless, like CO, but mercaptan has been required in the US since a tragic school explosion about a hundred years ago, from a Texas school using free methane supplied by oil field industry around it. I do not know if it's required in Mexico?

 

[kelemvor]

I carry this one everywhere: Portable Carbon Monoxide Detector Meter (CO Inspector)

Two of the three units they claim are "intrinsically safe" but none of the information on their website or videos indicate what makes them intrinsically safe. Are they just using big words as marketing gobbledygook or is there something to the claim? What is the advantage of an expensive unit like these over something like this?

 

[DandyDon]

Two of the three units they claim are "intrinsically safe" but none of the information on their website or videos indicate what makes them intrinsically safe. Are they just using big words as marketing gobbledygook or is there something to the claim? What is the advantage of an expensive unit like these over something like this?

I don't know how specific that word actually is. To answer your question, the Sensorcon units give fast results to low concentrations, while the First Alert unit requires much higher and/or longer concentrations before the alarm is sounded - yet still will give adequate protection. It's all relative. 1,000 ppm CO is quickly a threat, while 100 ppm is a low level threat at ambient levels, unless you compress it to breathe at depth where 10 ppm is the maximum allowed in the US.

 

[grf88]

Two of the three units they claim are "intrinsically safe" but none of the information on their website or videos indicate what makes them intrinsically safe. Are they just using big words as marketing gobbledygook or is there something to the claim? What is the advantage of an expensive unit like these over something like this?

Intrinsically safe means they are designed for hazardous locations and will not provide an ignition source for explosive gases etc. The other unit you show does not provide the sensitivity required for scuba gases.