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This morning in Health Watch it's blamed for at least 6 deaths in Washington State after a huge storm last week knocked out power over 1 million utility customers. Our doctor Emily Senay is back to tell us a little bit more about that.

--Hi, Emily.

--Hi, good morning.

--What makes carbon monoxide so dangerous though?

--Right, well, the reason that it is so problematic is people can't smell it, they can't see it; they can't taste it. So by the time it’s built up in an environment, and it's often too late. Now it's produced by anything that is burning fuel, so if you can think about the range of products at large, I mean, you go from cars, to furnaces to grills to water heaters. There are a lot of different ways that it can build up. If it is poorly, if the environment that it is happening in is poorly ventilated, the fumes will build up, and that's where trouble starts.

--And that's what we're saying happened in Washington State, you said it happened in the wake of Hurricane Katrina as well.

--Yes, that's right. People use devices inappropriately and, and then these fumes build up, it happens after major storms all the time. Yes, Katrina was problematic. Katrina, right now we know of about a hundred cases out there have been taken to the hospital because of carbon monoxide poisoning related to the storms in the northwest. Also one death where a person had a generator inside the home where, er, the fumes built up, so this is a problem that public health doctors are very well aware of. And I think the real way to prevent this is education, teaching people how to properly use these devices so it doesn't happen.

--You said someone used a generator inside, I mean, that's really one of the things you are absolutely not supposed to do. Right?

--No, absolutely not, not even in a partially enclosed space, because the fumes can build up. Even sometimes, if you can believe it, backing the generator up very close to the house, the fumes will come in the window and it will create a problem. So the proper use of generators or any type of heating device in the home is very important.

--I guess it, at this point we should probably talk about what are some of the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. I was hearing about the cherry look.

--That's right. That would be when it's well advanced, but early on the symptoms will be headache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, confusion. People who are experiencing these symptoms need to get out of the house wherever they are in closed-space, if you come across someone who has these symptoms, they need to be taken to the hospital. But you are right, it's sort of uh, vague symptoms, so people don't often realize what's going on.

--And it is not just generators that you can get carbon monoxide poisoning.

--Absolutely, many household appliances; it's fireplaces, it's furnaces, it's water heaters, it's stoves. All these devices need to be properly maintained. You need to make sure that they have been inspected and that they are well ventilated, and everything is up-to-date. Fireplaces, you need to clean the flue at least once a year. So it's not just in extreme settings after a storm where this happens.

--I have a bunch of these in my house.

--Yeah. Great.

--I went through checking them all last night. Is this what people...

--Absolutely. They need carbon monoxide detectors because you can't smell it or feel this. It's really important.

--And make sure the battery...

--That's right. Make sure the battery is working. Check them frequently and make sure they are fully functioned

--Good advice. Emily, thanks.