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{{#Show badges: | CoalSwarm}} '''Carbon monoxide''' (CO), also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas which is slightly lighter than air. It consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom, connected by a covalent double bond and a dative covalent bond. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal biological functions.<ref name="Toxicology2002-omaye">{{Cite journal|author=Omaye ST.| title=Metabolic modulation of carbon monoxide toxicity|journal=Toxicology|year=2002|pages=139–150|volume=180|issue=2|doi=10.1016/S0300-483X(02)00387-6|pmid=12324190}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|pmid=1592720|year=1992|last1=Tikuisis|first1=P|last2=Kane|first2=DM|last3=McLellan|first3=TM|last4=Buick|first4=F|last5=Fairburn|first5=SM|title=Rate of formation of carboxyhemoglobin in exercising humans exposed to carbon monoxide.|volume=72|issue=4|pages=1311–9|journal=Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)}}</ref>
Carbon monoxide is a major atmospheric pollutant in some urban areas, chiefly from the exhaust of internal combustion engines (including vehicles, portable and back-up generators, lawn mowers, power washers, etc.), but also from improper burning of various other fuels (including wood, coal, charcoal, oil, paraffin, propane, natural gas, and trash). Carbon monoxide is also released in coal mining, particularly [[mountaintop removal]] mining, due to the use of explosives, which pollutes the air and poses a health risk for mine workers.<ref name="sierra">[http://www.sierraclub.org/coal/dirtytruth/report/mining.pdf "The Dirty Truth about Coal: Mining"], Sierra Club, June 2007.</ref> CO is also released from coal plants: According to the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]], in an average year, a typical coal plant (500 megawatts) generates 720 tons of carbon monoxide, which causes headaches and places additional stress on people with heart disease.<ref name="union">[http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html "Coal Power: Air Pollution,"] Union of Concerned Scientists, accessed August 2008</ref>
