Houseboat Tragedies Call For Recall

Boat/US Magazine, March, 2001 by Elaine Dickinson

A shockingly high rate of carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings among boaters at just one western lake has led to calls for immediate action to correct what appears to be a deadly houseboat design flaw. The rash of poisonings was discovered last September by federal health officials investigating the sudden deaths of two boys on a houseboat last August.

Their findings that nine people have died since 1994 and more than 100 needed emergency care since 1991 -- all from CO poisoning at Lake Powell in Utah -- led to a call for "rapid intervention" on houseboats by the federal Centers for Disease Control on Dec. 15, as well as warnings issued nationwide from the Dept. of Interior.

In response, the U.S. Coast Guard, the federal agency responsible for boat safety, sent a letter to 85 houseboat manufacturers on Dec. 21 asking for voluntary cooperation on identifying a solution and what corrective action will fix it.

However, a letter to houseboat builders is not enough for Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO) who has gotten involved in the issue because he and thousands of his constituents in Colorado vacation at Lake Powell. He has asked Coast Guard Commandant Adm. James Loy to issue an immediate recall.

The chain of events began Aug. 2, when two brothers ages 8 and 11 were playing in the water at the swim platform of their family's houseboat at Lake Powell, a huge man-made lake in the desert. Without warning, the two boys lost consciousness and sank beneath the water and drowned. Frantic family members only a few feet away could not help them in time; their bodies were not recovered by authorities until the next day, in 30 feet of water beneath the boat.

After the two boys died, the medical director of the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area, in which Lake Powell is located, launched an investigation with help from the state of Utah and the National Park Service, Dept. of Interior and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Denver branch.

Their investigation included actual tests on houseboats at Lake Powell and the level of CO found beneath some houseboats was so high it was enough to kill a person after only a few breaths.

"We were surprised at the number of poisonings and the number of deaths, but we were astounded by the levels of carbon monoxide we measured," said Jane McCammon, director of the Denver NIOSH office, who is a specialist in carbon monoxide. "I've done lots of tests over the years in all kinds of situations and I've never seen levels this high. We thought there was something wrong with our monitors."

In certain houseboat models, the swim ladder design creates an air cavity underneath the stern deck. This space, as wide as the boat and about three feet long, is an attractive place for kids to swim into while playing at the swim ladder. Many boats vent the gasoline generator exhaust into this space, with no outlet, allowing lethal levels of carbon monoxide to build up within a few minutes.

Levels have been measured so high, even in open air on the aft deck, they're enough to sicken people sitting outside, as the NIOSH tests demonstrated (see chart). Seven of nine CO deaths at Glen Canyon NRA since 1996 occurred either on or under the back deck or in the water near the stern. Three poisonings occurred in a 12-day period in August 1998 involving people entering the air pocket at the stern; two of them died, one an adult trying to untangle a line wrapped around his propeller.

The Coast Guard does not have standards on the placement of gasoline generator exhaust vents, but does have the authority to order a recall for any hazard on a boat that threatens the public safety.

"We're following recall procedures but we're trying to get their cooperation to correct all their boats," said Philip Cappel, head of the Coast Guard's Product Assurance branch. "But we also want people who own houseboats to look at their own boats."

The Coast Guard is also warning boaters not to run their generators when the boat is not underway and when the aft deck is in use.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, tasteless gas that results from the incomplete burning of carbon fuel such as gasoline. Exposure to humans causes headaches, dizziness, fatigue, confusion and nausea; in high concentrations or prolonged exposure, carbon monoxide causes convulsions, seizures and death. Carbon monoxide is the number one cause of poisoning deaths in the United States. On boats, the symptoms closely mimic those of seasickness so poisoning is often not suspected until it is too late.

A rear exhaust vent was considered preferable because a side vent can allow carbon monoxide to waft into an open port hole or into another boat docked or rafted up alongside. The thinking was that no one would be swimming at the stern when the engines were turned on. However, the large number of appliances used on these boats, many as big as 60 or 75 feet with amenities from microwaves to VCRs, means the generator is likely to be running when the engines are off.

"Our worst fear is that this has gone on at other lakes and we just don't know about it yet," said Skip Moyer Jr., president of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC), which sets voluntary construction standards for boats, including generator exhaust vents. "These incidents simply fell through the cracks of what is a boating accident."