LOUISVILLE — State health officials will conduct a public-awareness campaign on the heels of a federal study released Wednesday showing dangerously high carbon monoxide levels around houseboats on Lake Cumberland.

        Officials will also help federal occupational safety officials review death records and injury reports to see if any drownings were caused by carbon monoxide.

        Kentucky Health Commissioner Dr. Rice Leach said he plans to issue warnings to houseboat owners, renters and marina owners before summer.

        The warnings will emphasize the risks involved in swimming off the back of houseboats while generators and motors are running.

        Will Lindesmith of Southgate, who vacations at Cumberland, said his friends in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky regularly rent large houseboats on the lake.

        “No one has ever said anything about having problems with exhaust fumes or carbon monoxide,” he said. “Everyone seems to have a great time, but I've never heard of any incidents.”

        The study, conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, found a carbon monoxide level high enough to kill a person in less than 30 minutes at one sensor off the back of a houseboat near the generator exhaust.

        Average levels on the boats were not that high, but some were still unsafe.

        “I would not sit on the stern, drinking a beer and watching the sunset,” Dr. Leach said. “This is just as dangerous as sitting in an automobile with the garage doors closed.”

        Dr. Leach said warnings could include informing owners when they register boats and providing renters with more information on the risks involved with operating houseboats.

        Lake Cumberland, known as the houseboat capital of the world, became the focus of the study after several carbon monoxide deaths occurred around houseboats at Lake Powell in Arizona. About 1,500 houseboats are docked at the southern Kentucky lake, but no deaths here have been attributed to carbon monoxide.

        Investigators at Lake Cumberland studied six houseboats with rear exhaust systems that emit fumes directly into the deck and swim area at the stern. According to the study, those areas become “extremely dangerous” when engines or generators are running.

       Enquirer reporter Terry Flynn contributed.

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