® E-News – Safer Boating:

       CO Poisoning Prevention

MAY 18, 2005

Volume 1, Number 1

Staying in Touch with Families and Others Touched by Boat-Related CO Poisonings

Those touched most directly by boat-related CO poisoning are often the ones that hear the least about what is going on to prevent future deaths and illness. This newsletter will provide periodic updates for families and others who expressed interest in developments.

The newsletter is a product of members of the Double Angel Foundation CO Awareness Committee, but is intended to be a two-way street. Contact us if you have information to share - or if you have questions.

Public Awareness Happenings

The International Boating and Water Safety Summit (April 2005) polled general session attendees about CO poisoning prevention and issues related to personal floatation devices. See what respondents thought at:

http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/summit/GraphicalQuestionsBoating.pdf

Media Coverage

New developments in propulsion engine catalytic convertors and the Westerbeke Safe-CO generator were covered by newspapers and trade magazines. (More information about these developments is provided in the CO Controls section below.)

Houseboat Magazine had an interesting editorial (At the Helm) and article (“Solutions for Safer Houseboating”) about CO poisonings on boats in their March 2005 issue.

Recent TV coverage includes an interview of Stacy Beckett's parents (see more about Stacy in the section about California legislation) on the Montel Williams show, and the scheduled airing of the Court TV Extreme Evidence episode about CO and boats on May 23 rd , 2005 . The Montel Williams episode dealt with several issues and aired in April. The Extreme Evidence episode includes interviews of Ken and Bambi Dixey, researchers, Park Rangers at Lake Powell , and others. Please check local listings for airtime.

New Technical Report Released

The NIOSH* final report summarizing Health Hazard Evaluations conducted at Lake Powell was recently released. It can be found at http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/hetafinal.pdf . What's new in the report?

•  Updated information related to the number of boat-related CO poisonings at Lake Powell (176 people poisoned between 1990 and 2004);

•  Information about CO-related drowning;

•  Information about the effectiveness of CO detectors inside houseboats.

*NIOSH is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Developments in CO Controls

Twice a year, the US Coast Guard (CG) sponsors meetings where updates about developments in CO control technology research are provided. Minutes of the most recent meeting , summarized below, can be found at the following website: http://www.abycinc.org/pdf/uscg_coprop_updatemtg021805.pdf

Minutes from past meetings can be found at:

http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/miami10-04_cominutes.pdf

http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/miami10-04_slides.pdf

http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/miami204_cominutes.pdf

http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/COWorkshop/cover%20page.pdf

Highlights of the most recent meeting, by topic:

Propulsion engines:

The Southwest Research Institute completed freshwater testing of catalytic convertors in use on marine propulsion engines for 480 hours of operation. Results showed that the convertors continued to be durable and effective. Saltwater testing will occur sometime this summer. For more information on these tests, contact James Carroll ( jcarroll@swri.org ).

Mercury and Indmar displayed “concept” prototypes of catalytic converters at the IBEX show. Go to http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/feb05/303027.asp for more information

Generators:

Westerbeke Safe CO generators are in production and commercially available. Prototype generators installed on Forever Resorts houseboats at Lake Mead have been tested by NIOSH to see if they continue to be safe after a few hundred hours of operation. Initial testing results looked great. For more information, go to http://www.westerbeke.com , or contact Scott Earnest (the NIOSH researcher doing the tests) at gse0@cdc.gov .

General topics:

Several houseboat builders are offering diesel power in boats. At least three houseboat insurance companies that are offering discounts for boats with diesel engines. Ski boats are being tested with diesel power as well. Contact Richard Blackman ( RBlackman@comdt.uscg.mil ) for more information.

The Water Sports Industry Association (WSIA) and NIOSH will be conducting human testing to measure accumulated CO levels on people engaging in water sports such as wake surfing. Contact Larry Meddock ( lmeddock@correctcraft.com ) for more information.

EPA intends to include a CO level related to marine engines in the revised rule. One meeting attendee suggested that a voluntary industry standard from the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) is desirable over a required rule from the EPA. If you have an opinion about this issue, contact Richard Blackman ( RBlackman@comdt.uscg.mil ) or Mike Samulski ( samulski.michael@epa.gov ).

Fireboy/Zintex has developed a new CO detector with an interlink feature allows connection with other detectors and a relay feature to shut down the generator. Contact Larry Akins ( lakins@fireboy-xintex.com ) for more information.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association is developing an industry-accepted warning label to comply with CA AB2222. Recent California legislation (discussed more fully below) requires a label for the transom of all powered boats warning about the dangers of platform dragging (also called teak surfing) and CO.

Legislative Action:

Pennsylvania and Nevada established regulations related to “teak surfing” (also known as “dragging” and “platform dragging”). The specific language is below:

Pennsylvania :

§105.3.  Unacceptable boating practices

 It is unlawful to:

(10) Operate a motorboat at any speed with a person or persons sitting, riding or hanging on a swim platform or swim ladder attached to the motorboat.

(11) Operate a motorboat at any speed when towing a person on waterskis or other devices using a tow rope of 20 feet or less.

Nevada :

NAC 488.435   Prima facie evidence of reckless or negligent operation. ( NRS 488.045 , 488.400 , 501.181 )   Each of the following acts endangers life, limb or property and constitutes prima facie evidence of reckless or negligent operation of a vessel:

     1.  Riding on the bow, gunwale or transom of a motorboat underway at a speed greater than 5 nautical miles per hour, unless the act is done by a vessel's crewmen in managing a sail.

     2.  Maneuvering a towed skier or device so as to pass the towline over another vessel or its skier.

     3.  Navigating any vessel, skis or device between a towing vessel and its tow.

      4.  Operating a motorboat while any person is hanging onto, or sitting, standing or riding on, a swim platform or a swim ladder that is attached to the motorboat.

[Bd. of Wildlife Comm'rs, Motorboat Reg. No. 100 § 41, eff. 2‑10‑82]—(NACA by R135‑04, 10‑28‑2004)

California passed the Anthony Farr and Stacy Beckett Boating Safety Act of 2004 (AB 2222), named for two California children who lost their lives recently after being overcome by carbon monoxide while boating with friends and family. Full text of the bill can be found at:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/asm/ab_2201-2250/ab_2222_bill_20040917_chaptered.pdf

AB 2222, Anthony and Stacy's Law, is intended to educate Californians and raise awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning while boating in order to prevent further tragic, senseless deaths. The bill also makes it a minor crime for anyone to operate a boat or have a boat engine running while someone is occupying the water behind the boat in order to better inform boaters about the dangers of this practice.

AB 2222 prohibits teak surfing, and requires labeling of motorized vessels and distribution of educational materials. An update about the implementation of the bill was provided by Teresa Stark (Chief of Staff, Assemblyman Paul Koretz, phone 916-319-2042, fax (916) 319-2142, www.assembly.ca.gov/koretz ):

AB 2222 requires that boat dealers affix warning labels either made available by the Department of Boating and Waterways, or from the manufacturer as long as it had been approved in advance by the DBW.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association, in order to meet the requirements of AB 2222 and to develop a label that would receive DBW approval, undertook an extensive development process which ultimately resulted in standardized CO labels that will be used nationally. These labels were

Double Angel CO Awareness

Committee

Jane McCammon

Chairman

Ken Dixey

Bambi Dixey

Ken Major

Karen Dunkel

Jim Mack

Claire Babik

Dr. Robert Baron

Dr. Robin Larabee

Members

California AB 2222 (cont.)

developed by an independent consultant, further hashed out in meetings and phone calls with DBW, and tested in focus groups for their effectiveness. The label for the transom uses the word "Danger" while the label for the boat operator uses "Warning." DBW fought very, very hard for the "Danger" on the external label.

NMMA says that they will be offering the decals to all of their member boat manufacturers (400+) for installation at the factory and to any service organization such as the State Boating Law Administrators. They will also make the decals available through their website. The decals will get very wide coverage in the industry. Application at the factory is not mandatory, but wide cooperation is anticipated for several reasons. 1) It's easier to make the decal part of the manufacturing process for all boats rather than identifying just those boats bound for California, 2) manufacturers viewing this from a liability standpoint do not want to be the one not providing the warning, and 3) this may come into play during the NMMA certification process.

The labels and an educational brochure will be available in time to start being mailed out to boat owners in California by the May 1st deadline in the bill. Very soon, California boat owners will start getting this critical information in the mail when they buy a boat or re-register their current boat.

END