Carbon monoxide poisoning from sterno

A high-school student became ill and later unconscious while working over a heating table set over three cans of burning Sterno. Sterno (manufactured by Colgate-Palmolive) is a canned fuel used to heat food in homes and restaurants and when camping. It contains 66.0% ethyl alcohol, 3.4% methyl alcohol, 3.3% acetone, 2.0% nitrocellulose and water. Measurements of 1000 to 3000 parts per million of carbon monoxide were obtained around and above the apparatus. Although the room was well ventilated there was incomplete combustion of the canned heating fuel because the apparatus was surrounded by aluminum foil, which resulted in poor oxygenation of the flame area. This case demonstrates the hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning from incompletely burned Sterno.