25.05.12
Hockey moms and dads in medial Illinois apparently need not fear carbon monoxide poisoning from Zambonis at Owens Center.
Thanks to dehumidifiers that reach out like severe-angled robotic arms over both Owens rinks and the exhaust fan that sits between them, there's effectively no chance of being exposed to exhaust fumes from ice-resurfacing machines, according to the the Gents's manager.
"It's the private rinks where you chiefly have a problem," Doug Silberer said Saturday. "The Reservation District did a phenomenal job when they designed this place 30-plus years ago."
A spin out hang of incidents early last year led to closer scrutiny of ventilation levels at hockey rinks. There were 61 people sickened from laying open to carbon monoxide in February 2011 at a rink in Colorado, and four people were hospitalized after a dehumidifier malfunctioned Dec. 14 in Clearwater, Fla.
At Owens Center, the heaters that be logical above the bleachers help ventilate, as does the dehumidifier (cost: $90,000) that constantly pumps out rink air and pumps in na air. But the regular monitoring of air quality by staff members and machines do the most to assure a healthy skating environment, according to Silberer.
Source: Peoria Journal Star