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 a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside the school building, to have a carbon monoxide device. The bill would define “modernized” as a rehabilitation project that has an estimated total cost in excess of $200,000begin insert,end insert and would require that the carbon monoxide device be installed in close proximity to each furnace located within the school building.begin insert The bill would also require the State Fire Marshal to adopt rules and regulations that he or she deems necessary to implement these provisions.end insert
Vote: majority.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert.
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,
P3 1possibly thousands of avoidable illnesses, and
between 175 and
2700 avoidable emergency room and hospital visits.
3(4) There are well-documented chronic health effects of acute
4carbon monoxide poisoning and prolonged exposure to carbon
5monoxide, including, but not limited to, lethargy, headaches,
6concentration problems, amnesia, psychosis, Parkinson’s disease,
7memory impairment, and personality alterations.
8(b) In an analysis conducted by the National Fire Protection
9Association of nonfire carbon monoxide incidents reported for the
10year 2005, 250 carbon monoxide incidents were reported
11nationwide in educational facilities. Of these, 150 incidents
12occurred in school buildings used for preschool, kindergarten, or
13grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
14(c) (1) On December 3, 2012, Finch Elementary School in
15Atlanta, Georgia, was evacuated after firefighters discovered a
16carbon monoxide leak from the school’s furnace. Firefighters
17responded to the school after reports came in that people at the
18school were unconscious. Although no one was found unconscious,
19firefighters found people sickened and, in total, 43 students and
2010 adults were taken to the local hospital.
21(2) The firefighters detected high and unsafe levels of carbon
22monoxide near a furnace, and detected up to 1,700 parts per million
23of carbon monoxide in other areas, a very high level of the gas.
24(3) The State of Georgia did not require school facilities to have,
25and Finch Elementary School did not have, carbon monoxide
26detectors. Two states, Maryland and
Connecticut, have passed
27legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in school facilities.
28(d) Senate Bill 183 of the 2009-10 Regular Session (Chapter
2919 of the Statutes of 2010) requires a dwelling unit that is intended
30for human occupancy and that has a fossil fuel burning heater or
31appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage to have a carbon
32monoxide alarm, as specified.
33(e) Because carbon monoxide affects individuals differently
34and symptoms of exposure can mimic symptoms of common
35ailments such as the influenza virus, it is difficult to quantify the
36exact number of carbon monoxide incidents in school buildings
37and it is highly probable that the number of carbon monoxide
38incidents is underreported. Additionally, the number of carbon
39monoxide incidents in schools will
likely rise in future years as
40school buildings and their infrastructure become outdated over
P4 1time. Carbon monoxide devices provide a vital, highly effective,
2and low-cost protection against carbon monoxide poisoning and
3these devices should be made available to every school in
4California to help prevent students from being exposed to the
5effects of carbon monoxide.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 32080) is added
7to Chapter 1 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education
8Code, to read:
9
For purposes of this article, the following definitions
13shall apply:
14(a) “Fossil fuel” has the same meaning as defined in Section
1513262 of the Health and Safety Code.
16(b) “Modernized” means a rehabilitation project that has an
17estimated total cost in excess of two hundred thousand dollars
18($200,000).
(a) A private or public school building that is used for
20educational purposes for kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
21inclusive, that is built or modernized on or after January 1, 2014,
22and that has a fossil fuel burning furnace located inside the school
23
building, shall have a carbon monoxide device, as defined in
24Section 13262 of the Health and Safety Code, installed in that
25building.
26(b) A private or public school used for educational purposes for
27kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, that has a furnace
28located inside the school building, and that was built or modernized
29prior to January 1, 2014, is encouraged to have a carbon monoxide
30device installed in the building.
A carbon monoxide device installed pursuant to Section
3232081 shall be installed in close proximity to each furnace located
33within the public or private school building so that the device can
34accurately detect the leakage of carbon monoxide.
The State Fire Marshal shall adopt rules and
36regulations that he or she deems necessary to implement this
37article.
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