Dubai Police experts and relevant authorities have warned of three wrong practices that double the risks of exposure to what is known as the “silent killer” or carbon monoxide gas inside cars. And staying inside the vehicle while it is in operation for a long time.
In detail, the Director of the General Department of Criminal Evidence at Dubai Police, Major General Ahmed Thani bin Ghalaita, said during a workshop held by the Department on the dangers of carbon monoxide gas that the risk of exposure to poisoning as a result of inhaling carbon monoxide gas inside vehicles lies in the absence of a smell or color for this gas, which is the matter Which is difficult to detect and its high concentration in a closed place, pointing out that its symptoms are headache, drowsiness, fatigue and lethargy, and the person enters into a coma without realizing the seriousness of what he is exposed to.
In turn, the head of the Forensic Engineering Department at the General Department of Forensic Evidence and Criminology, leading expert Dr. Eng. Muhammad Ali Al-Qasim, said that the studies conducted by the department regarding cases of carbon monoxide poisoning showed a lack of awareness of the victims of wrong practices, including making substantial modifications in the rear filters of the vehicle, to increase The driving force and raising the efficiency, which negatively affects the air quality in it, and raises the percentage of carbon monoxide, whether it is standing in a closed or open place, which leads to the poisoning of the person and his death or exposure to serious injury.
Al-Qasim added that by analyzing and examining the reports and accidents that the experts in the department referred to, it was also found that many of them occur as a result of three main reasons, including staying in old vehicles that are not subject to the necessary maintenance, or are subject to modifications in the wrong way, and that the third common reason is the long stay of the victims inside The car is in a state of operation in a closed place, stressing the need to avoid these errors in order to prevent the danger of the silent killer.
In addition, the Director of the Specialized Criminal Evidence Department, Senior Expert in Toxicology, Ibtisam Abd al-Rahman al-Abdouli, said that the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning lies in the fact that it gradually replaces oxygen in a closed place, and due to the lack of smell, taste, or color of carbon monoxide, its molecules gradually replace oxygen. In the blood, the person feels minor symptoms, such as headache, shortness of breath, dizziness and nausea, until his blood is saturated with carbon monoxide, and he enters into a state of fainting and then dies.
She added that carbon monoxide gas “is caused by the combustion of fuel, whatever its source, such as coal, firewood, plastic, etc., and its quantity gradually increases as the combustion process takes place inside a closed place without ventilation, and overwhelms the amount of oxygen, without the individuals present in the place feeling the silent killer, which causes Many deaths occur annually in the world as a result of lack of awareness of these wrong practices.
And about how to act if some people feel symptoms of carbon monoxide, or if they find people in a state of fainting, she stressed the need to pull the fainted people out of the closed place immediately, open the windows to bring oxygen into the place, and call an ambulance directly to take the necessary measures.
• The danger of exposure to poisoning by inhaling «carbon monoxide» lies in the absence of its smell or color.
binding regulations
The Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the General Department of Human Rights in Dubai Police, Saif Al Falasi, called for the need to consider legislation related to the environment in order to set controls related to practices that may result in fatal accidents due to carbon monoxide gas. Meanwhile, Acting Director of the Standards Department at the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, Youssef Al-Marzouqi, stressed the need to set binding specifications and standards related to evaluating air quality inside vehicles in order to preserve safety, environmental health, and the safety of car users.
