Pollutants - Carbon Monoxide
This section is intended to help people looking for information about the pollutant carbon monoxide.
What is it?
Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless poisonous gas.
How does it end up in the atmosphere?
It is produced by incomplete, or inefficient, combustion of fuel including 'cold' or badly tuned engines.
It is estimated that road transport is responsible for almost 90% of all carbon monoxide emissions in the UK.
Badly ventilated domestic fuel appliances (gas, oil or solid fuel) can cause high levels indoors, as can smoking.
What are the health effects?
The gas affects the transport of oxygen around the body by the blood. At very high levels, this can lead to a significant reduction in the supply of oxygen to the heart, particularly in people suffering from heart disease.
Where are the trouble spots?
As traffic is a major source of carbon monoxide, ambient concentrations will generally be highest close to busy roads.
Monitoring data suggests that annual average CO levels have been decreasing over the last few years. This is probably due to improved vehicle engine efficiency and the introduction of catalytic converters.
The effect of technological improvements has been cancelled out to some degree by an increase in traffic levels.
Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
Town Hall
Castlefield Road
Reigate
RH2 0SH
01737 276000
customer.services@reigate-banstead.gov.uk
