AB 56, as introduced, Weber. School facilities: carbon monoxide devices.
Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene School Facilities Act of 1998, requires certain new school facilities construction projects that require the approval of the Department of General Services, as specified, to include an automatic fire detection, alarm, and sprinkler system. The act also requires certain modernization projects that require the approval of the department to include an automatic fire detection and alarm system, as specified.
Existing law requires an owner of a dwelling unit intended for human occupancy to install a carbon monoxide device, as specified, in each existing dwelling unit having a fossil fuel burning heater or appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage.
This bill would require any private or public school building used for educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that is built or modernized on or after January 1, 2014, and that has a furnace located inside the school building to have a carbon monoxide device. The bill would require that the carbon monoxide device be installed in close proximity to each furnace located within the school building.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) (1) Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas produced
4when fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal, is burned.
5Carbon monoxide can cause harmful health effects by reducing
6the delivery of oxygen to the body’s organs, such as the heart,
7brain, and tissues. The most common symptoms of carbon
8monoxide poisoning are headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea,
9vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Long-term breathing of carbon
10monoxide can affect the memory, brain function, behavior, and
11cognition. According to the American Medical Association, carbon
12monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in
13the United States. Gas furnaces
and other fuel-burning appliances
14are common sources of carbon monoxide poisoning.
15(2) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
16estimate that each year more than 400 Americans die from
17unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning, more than 20,000 visit
18the emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized due to
19carbon monoxide poisoning. According to the United States
20Environmental Protection Agency, a person cannot see or smell
21carbon monoxide. At high levels, carbon monoxide can kill a
22person in minutes.
23(3) The State Air Resources Board estimates that every year
24carbon monoxide accounts for between 30 and 40 avoidable deaths,
25possibly thousands of avoidable illnesses, and between 175 and
26700 avoidable emergency room and hospital visits.
27(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
28
carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon
29monoxide, including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches,
30concentration problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease,
31memory impairment, and personality alterations.
32(b) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
33Atlanta Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a
34carbon monoxide leak from the school’s furnace. Firefighters
35responded to the school after reports came in that people at the
P3 1school were unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious,
2firefighters found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and
310 adults were taken to the local hospital.
4(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
5monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
6of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
7(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to have,
8and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
9detectors. Two states, Maryland and Connecticut, have passed
10legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.
11(c) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter
1219 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended
13for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
14appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
15monoxide alarm, as specified.
16(d) Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly effective,
17and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning and
18these devices should be made available to every school in
19California to help prevent students from being exposed to the
20effects of carbon
monoxide.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added
22to Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
23Code, to read:
24
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any private
28or public school building that is used for educational purposes for
29kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that is built or
30modernized on or after January 1, 2014, and that has a furnace
31located inside the school building shall have a carbon monoxide
32device, as defined in Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code,
33installed in that building.
34(b) This article shall not apply to a private or public school
35building that has completed construction or modernization prior
36to January 1, 2014.
37(c) A private or public school used for educational purposes for
38kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that has a
furnace
39located inside the school building, and that was built or modernized
P4 1prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide
2device installed in the building.
A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
432080 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
5within the public or private school building so that the device can
6accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.
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