Natural gas tens of millions of structures that use the fuel, the individual risk of using natural gas is very low. Natural gas heating systems may cause carbon monoxide poisoning if unvented or poorly vented. In 2011, natural gas furnaces, space heaters, water heaters and stoves were blamed for 11 carbon monoxide deaths in the US. Another 22 deaths were attributed to appliances running on liquified petroleum gas, and 17 deaths on gas of unspecified type. Improvements in natural gas furnace designs have greatly reduced CO poisoning concerns. Detectors are also available that warn of carbon monoxide and/or explosive gas (methane, propane,
Natural gas to flow in economical quantities, shale gas wells depend on fractures to allow the gas to flow. Early shale gas wells depended on natural fractures through which gas flowed; almost all shale gas wells today require fractures artificially created by hydraulic fracturing. Since 2000, shale gas has become a major source of natural gas in the United States and Canada. Because of increased shale gas production, the United States is now the number one natural gas producer in the world. Following the success in the United States, shale gas exploration is beginning in countries such as Poland, China, and South