Portable generators: Standby power or standby death?

Who monitors incidents of unintentional
carbon monoxide poisoning in Nigeria?
A review of medical records of patients
receiving diagnosis of unintentional
carbon monoxide poisoning shows
Nigeria is in dire need of active
surveillance for proper generator use.
VF findings show that misplacement of
portable, gasoline-powered generators,
for instance, indoors, in garages, or
outdoors near windows, is often
responsible for fatal and non-fatal
generator fumes exposures.
Public health practitioners are yet to
come up with educational campaigns
on the safe operation of portable
generators and prevention of hazards of
carbon monoxide poisoning in the
community. Sola Ogundipe report…
RECENTLY, a new-wed couple choked to
death from generator fumes in their
new home on the outskirt of Calabar,
Cross River State. Around the same
time, in Ibadan, Oyo State, a 69-year-
old man passed away along with seven
other members of his family after they
were overcome by fumes from a
portable generator that was running on
the first floor of their home. Reports
indicated that the level of fumes inside
the home was three times the danger
limit.
Prior to this incident, in Abeokuta, Ogun
State, two teenagers died from
generator fumes poisoning because the
generator they were using to power
ceiling fans was too close to the room in
which they slept. Much later, in Agege
area of Lagos State, a middle aged man
who was running a generator in his
basement died in his sleep when the
generator fumes infiltrated his
bedroom.
Separate incidents
In yet another incidence somewhere on
the Lagos mainland, a 30-year-old man
who went to bed with his family while a
generator was running in his garage,
also died along with them as a result of
the close proximity of the device. In
Abuja, between June 2012 and March
2013, four people died in separate
incidents as a result of poisoning from
generator fumes.
Almost daily, there is one report or the
other of a generator-induced death.
Someone is either burned to death
while refueling a generator, or
electrocuted connecting an appliance to
a live generator. But by far the most
common reports have to do with people
inhaling generator fumes and choking
to death in their sleep right inside their
bedrooms.
Over the years, the monumental failure
of the antiquated National Electric
Power Authority, NEPA, and its equally
moribund descendant – the Power
Holding Corporation of Nigeria, PHCN,
Plc. compelled the average Nigerian to
invest in portable generators to provide
electrical power more on a substantive
rather than standby basis. For millions
who have come to learn never to expect
power at all, the generator is a life-saver
because it has become the mainstay of
electricity provision. For most purposes,
the standby generator has become the
"NEPA", while the "NEPA" is now
standby.
It is on record that Nigerians have
acquired more standby generators in
their life time than other nationals in
the world. Owning a portable gasoline
generator in Nigeria today is not only
essential, but the norm. Recent
statistics from the Centre for
Management Development reveal that
an estimated 60 million Nigerians
invest about N1.6 trillion to purchase
and maintain standby generators
annually.
The typical portable generator ranges
from the cheap and lowly "I beta pass
my neighbour" to the high end
noiseless series. To most Nigerians, "I
beta pass my neighbour" is a life saver.
Affordable and cheap to maintain, there
are very few homes in the city, town
and even village where the robust little
contraption has not found a place.
But those who know better describe it
as a potential life taker. Being a 2-
stroke design, "I beta pass my
neighbour" has no separate lubrication
system, so it uses a petrol-engine oil
mixture
Findings by VF reveal that in a typical
"face-me-I-face-you" apartment
building in Lagos, there is one or even
two "I beta pass my neighbour" per
room. In a building with 20 rooms, up to
10-15 generators could be on at the
same time, emitting thick clouds of
environmentally unfriendly gases for
hours on end.
Standby generators
But that is not the end of the story.
Nigerians are not only world champions
for acquiring the highest number of
standby generators, the nation holds
the gold medal for recording the
highest number of generator-induced
deaths.
Generator fumes comprise a lethal
cocktail of poisonous and
environmentally unfriendly gases,
including carbon monoxide and other
noxious products produced from
incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon
fuels notably petrol (gasoline), diesel or
a mixture of petrol and engine oil.
By far the most toxic of these product
gases is carbon monoxide which is
virtually invisible. You cannot smell it or
see it because it is odourless and
colourless and becomes fatal with
sustained concentrations. VF gathered
the carbon monoxide produced during
operation of a portable generator can be
a serious health hazard. For instance,
the exhaust produced by a typical 5.5
kW generator contains as much carbon
monoxide as that of six idling cars.
When used indoors or in close proximity
to residential dwellings, this exhaust
can quickly infiltrate living spaces and
incapacitate occupants. Misplacement
of portable generators indoors, in
garages, or outdoors near windows
accounted for most exposures.
In normal use, majority of portable
generators placed outdoors are
reportedly located near windows or
window-mounted air conditioners. More
often than not, portable generators are
placed inside a room or the corridor/
balcony inside the home or garage to
protect the devices from the weather or
to prevent them from being stolen.
Findings reveal that majority of fatal
poisonings occur overnight.
Health records provide evidence that
constant exposure to emissions from
generators has proved hazardous to
human wellbeing affecting the lungs
and causing lasting health problems
such as cancer, premature birth, low
weight babies and neonatal
abnormalities, cerebral palsy, etc., as
well as numerous deaths.
"It is a silent epidemic. Nobody hears
anything, nobody feels anything. It just
happens," notes Professor Olu
Akinyanju, a member of the World
Health Organisation, WHO, Advisory
Panel of the Human Genetics
Programme. Akinyanju, a Physician/
Haematologist, and Founder/ Chairman,
Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria,
described the incidence as an epidemic.
"It is so rampant, and the challenge is
how to bring it to the attention of
people," he stated.
The Centres for Disease Control and
Prevention advises using generators at
least 20 feet away from homes, since
there's not enough ventilation within
garages and basements or near open
windows to prevent fatal poisoning.
However, some generator
manufacturers recommend the use of
extension cords to be "as short as
possible, preferably less than 15 feet
long, to prevent voltage drop and
possible overheating of wires."
However, the use of short extension
cords may result in placement of the
generator too close to the home to
reduce the likelihood of the entry of
carbon monoxide. To reduce fumes
entry, the generator should ideally be
positioned outside of airflow
recirculation region near the open
windows.
"The bottom line is that the risk for
carbon monoxide poisoning from
generators is a major concern and
public health officials should take
cognisance of this fact. The only safe
use of generators is outdoors, well away
from any windows that could transmit
fumes indoors," an engineer told VF.