Gas Fumes Or Gas Vapors Of Unknown Origin
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Building Materials & Home Structures · CPSC Code 1898
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Gas Fumes Or Gas Vapors Of Unknown Origin carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,934 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,934
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1898 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,934 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.9%
- Fatality rate0.17%
- 5-year trend-9%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Gas Fumes Or Gas Vapors Of Unknown Origin (CPSC product code 1898, in the Building Materials & Home Structures category) generate an estimated 1,934 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 38,672 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2017 (4,240 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (1,155 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 17,738 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by anoxia to the all parts body (17,256 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 6,500 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 8.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.17%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 1,682 | 1,974 | |
| 5-14 | 2,385 | 2,628 | |
| 15-24 | 2,564 | 3,722 | |
| 25-34 | 2,570 | 3,930 | |
| 35-44 | 1,490 | 2,759 | |
| 45-54 | 1,967 | 2,925 | |
| 55-64 | 1,162 | 1,865 | |
| 65-74 | 722 | 2,143 | |
| 75+ | 1,066 | 1,122 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| All Parts Body | Anoxia | |
| Face | Burns, Thermal | |
| All Parts Body | Other | |
| Head | Other | |
| Not Stated/unk | Other | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Upper Trunk | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Internal Injury | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Chemical | |
| Finger | Burns, Thermal | |
| Wrist | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
59YOF WAS IN GARAGE POWERWASHING FOR AN HOUR WITH ONLY THE DOOR CRACKED. DX: TOXIC EFFECT OF CARBON MONOXIDE, UNINTENTIONAL.
55 YOF WITH MIGRAINE LIKE HEADACHE AND BODY ACHES. WAS JUST NOTIFIED THAT HER APARTMENT HAS A GAS LEAK. DX NONINTRACTABLE HEADACHE, NATURAL GAS EXPOSURE, INFLUENZA
55 YOF C/O DIZZINESS, EYE PAIN AND COUGH ONSET YESTERDAY. PT REPORTS DIZZINESS STARTED YESTERDAY AS SHE WAS WALKING AND WAS A STRONG SMELL TO GASOLINE ON THE STREETS. DX NONINTRACTABLE HEADACHE, LIGHTHEADEDNESS
23YOM TO ED WITH C/O OF DIZZINESS, NAUSEA AT HOME AFTER REPORTEDLY SMELLING GAS AT HOME, WANTS TO BE CHECKED FOR POSSIBLE CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE, DX DIZZINESS
23YOF,GAS LEAKING TODAY WAS WAITING FOR GAS COMPANY,SYNCOPE,UNWITNESS,WOKE UP ON FLOOR,DX:INHALATION GASEOUS
42YOF PATIENT WAS FOUND BY A NEIGHBOR, SHE WAS PASSED OUT IN THE BACK OF HER VAN SURROUNDED BY ***. HE HELPED HER TO A BENCH, SHE MAY HAVE FALLEN. DX: CHRONIC NITROUS OXIDE USE, ALTERED MENTAL STATUS
52YOF WITH DIZZINESS. STATES THAT THIS EPISODE OF VERTIGO STARTED AFTER SHE WAS EXPOSED TO NATURAL GAS. PT REPORTS THAT SHE LIVES ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF HER BUILDING AND THEY WERE EVALUATED DUE TO A NATURAL GAS LEAK. DX: DIZZY, VERTIGO
80YOM PRESENTING TO THE ED AS A STROKE ALERT. PER PT SON, PROGRESSIVE CONFUSION, NO WEAKNESS. PER EMS, THERE WAS ALSO A GAS LEAK IN THE PT'S HOME. PT STATED THE GAS LEAK HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR 3 DAYS. EMS STATES GAS SMELL IN HOUSE AND PT HAS RED SKIN UPON ARRIVAL (UNKNOWN WHERE EXACTLY) DX: STROKE, ACUTE EMBOLIC
49 YOF EXPOSED TO GAS IN HER HOME AND C/O SORE THROAT AND CHEST PAIN, COHGB NOT DONE. DX: SORE THROAT, VIRAL URI
25YOF,TWITCH UPPER LIP THERE WAS A LEAK IN APARTMENT AN WAS FIXED YEST,VOMITING,DX:TOXIC INHALATION
21YOF PATIENT HAD A SEWER GAS LEAK AT HER HOME, SHE STATES SHE FELT NAUSEOUS. DX: EXPOSURE TO GASEOUS SUBSTANCE, LIGHTHEADED, NAUSEA, NEAR SYNCOPE
19YOF TO ER FOR 30 MIN, EXPOSURE TO METHANE GAS FOR 30 MINS IN THE SCHOOL LAB , PT WAS ABLE TP AMBULATE AFTER EXPOSURE, PT HAD FATIGUE, NAUSEA & CHEST & ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT, PT FOUND TO BE POS COVID IN ER DX SOB, COVID, POISONING BY METHANE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,934 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin?
The most common injury is poisoning to the all parts body, accounting for approximately 17,738 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 6,500 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin?
Of all ER visits involving gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin, approximately 8.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with gas fumes or gas vapors of unknown origin?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Building Materials & Home Structures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 25-34 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
