Bill seeks to bring awareness to carbon monoxide poisoning from boat exhausts

A Flagstaff couple whose daughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning last July during a Lake Powell vacation are pushing for new state laws to help save other children from a similar fate.

Jennifer and Matthew Evans convinced state Rep. Albert Tom, D-Chambers, to sponsor legislation making it a crime for anyone to be in the water near the exhaust pipes of boats while the motor is operating. Violators could be jailed for up to four months and face fines of up to $750.

But the couple said Tuesday the real heart of the bill is to educate those who own or rent boats of what they said is the hidden danger of carbon monoxide poisoning - the poisoning that claimed the life of 7-year-old Megan.

Sgt. Ron Voss, supervisor of water safety and enforcement for the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, said it's difficult to tell whether a boating accident is caused by carbon monoxide without testing. However he said there have been a few cases in Yuma he suspects were related to exposure to the fumes.

"We've had people that were riding on the back of a boat and suddenly you turn around and they’ve fallen in the water," Voss said.

Locally, he said this was a growing problem among young boaters "teak surfing." This refers to hanging onto the swim platform on the back of a boat while the boat is moving forward in slow motion. Often the swimmers will let go and body surf on the boat's wake. By itself this activity is dangerous enough but the colorless, odorless carbon monoxide fumes that accumulate on the back of boats can make it deadly.

Voss said any effort to make the public more aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide on the water was welcome.

"People don't realize ... when they’re sitting on the back of a boat and it’s idling, they’re inhaling carbon monoxide fumes," he said.

HB 2024 would mandate stickers on every new and used motorized watercraft sold in the state warning of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. It also would require the state Game and Fish Department to develop a brochure detailing the problem, with that being provided initially to anyone buying a boat and, eventually, mailed to every boat owner in the state.

Tom said there have been 141 reported deaths nationwide since 1995 due to carbon monoxide poisoning from boat engines, with another more than 600 cases of people becoming ill. "Over 40 percent of those poisonings have involved children,'' he said.

Tom said the issue is particularly critical in the case of houseboats which can be rented by tourists so their families have a place to sleep, eat - and let their children swim - while on vacation.

Matthew Evans said boat manufacturers have known for years about the toxic fumes, with the exhaust pipes often located right adjacent to the back of the boat - where people swim or even just hang on the back while the craft is moving. He said the manufacturers have taken some steps to reduce

pollutants.

"Problem is, there are thousands and thousands of boats out there that don't have these safeguards that are in the hands of private owners who don't have the education,'' he said. "And without something like this particular bill being passed we're going to continue to hear stories of families that are suffering like ours.''