T
he same gasoline-powered portable generators that keep the lights burning, the freezer cold, and the house warm when a storm shuts off the electricity, can also kill you in minutes if you fail to follow safe practices. A single generator can emit several hundred times more poisonous carbon monoxide than a modern car’s exhaust. To help quantify the dangers of improperly used portable generators, and evaluate possible technical solutions to the problem, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has enlisted the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).