AB 56, as amended, 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 abegin insert fossil fuel burningend insert furnace located inside the schoolbegin delete buildingend deletebegin insert building,end insert to have a carbon monoxide device. The bill wouldbegin insert define “modernized” as a rehabilitation project that has an estimated total cost in excess of $200,000 and wouldend insert 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.
P3 1(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
2carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon
3monoxide, including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches,
4concentration problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease,
5memory impairment, and personality alterations.
6(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
7Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
8year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported
9nationwide in educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents
10occurred in school buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or
11grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
12(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
13Atlanta, Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a
14carbon monoxide leak from the school’s furnace. Firefighters
15responded to the school after reports came in that people at the
16school were unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious,
17firefighters found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and
1810 adults were taken to the local hospital.
19(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
20monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
21of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
22(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to have,
23and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
24detectors. Two states, Maryland and
Connecticut, have passed
25legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.
26(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter
2719 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended
28for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
29appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
30monoxide alarm, as specified.
31(e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently
32and symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common
33ailments such as the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the
34exact number of carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings
35and it is highly probable that the number of carbon monoxide
36incidents is underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon
37monoxide incidents in schools will
likely rise in future years as
38school buildings and their infrastructure become outdated over
39time. Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly effective,
40and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning and
P4 1these devices should be made available to every school in
2California to help prevent students from being exposed to the
3effects of carbon monoxide.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added
5to Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
6Code, to read:
7
begin insert
For purposes of this article, the following definitions
11shall apply:
12(a) “Fossil fuel” has the same meaning as defined in Section
1313262 of the Health and Safety Code.
14(b) “Modernized” means a rehabilitation project that has an
15estimated total cost in excess of two hundred thousand dollars
16($200,000).
(a) A private or public school building that is used for
19educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
20inclusive, that is built or modernized on or after January 1, 2014,
21and that has abegin insert fossil fuel burningend insert furnace located inside the school
22begin delete buildingend deletebegin insert
building,end insert shall have a carbon monoxide device, as defined
23in Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code, installed in that
24building.
25(b) A private or public school used for educational purposes for
26kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that has a furnace
27located inside the school building, and that was built or modernized
28prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide
29device installed in the building.
A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
31begin delete32080end deletebegin insert 32081end insert shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace
32located within the public or private school building so that the
33device can accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.
O
97