Final answer:
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled. It is released from the burning of fossil fuels and can affect air quality both indoors and outdoors. It can cause harmful health effects and even death at high levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled in large amounts. CO is released when something is burned. The greatest sources of CO to outdoor air are cars, trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels. A variety of items in your home such as unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, leaking chimneys and furnaces, and gas stoves also release CO and can affect air quality indoors.
CO can cause harmful health effects by reducing oxygen delivery to the body's organs (like the heart and brain) and tissues. At extremely high levels, CO can cause death. In homes, the average levels of CO without gas stoves vary from 0.5 to 5 parts per million (ppm), while levels near properly adjusted gas stoves are often 5 to 15 ppm and those near poorly adjusted stoves may be 30 ppm or higher.
It is important to have proper ventilation and carbon monoxide detectors in your home to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.