CO - the silent, odourless,tasteless killer

The deaths of 2 children in Corfu and the onset of winter when the heating gets turned up, has prompted the Health and Safety Executive to remind home owners and landlords about the proper care and maintenanceof gas heating appliances all year round.

CO poisoning is an invisible odourless, tasteless killer that can and does kill in minutes. CO kills 20-30 people accidentally in the UK every year and it is claimed also affects up to 10,000 people, many of whom require hospital treatment. (DEFRA for more information about how CO damages or even kills) (NHS Direct)

Mike Harrison, HSE Principal Inspector responsible for gas safety in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has taken the opportunity today to remind the public that .. "In properties where there are gas appliances installed that are the responsibility of the landlord, tenants must see a copy of a Landlords Gas Safety Record, which details the outcome of the annual safety check."

This timely reminder as winter drawers on, after Paul Clark, a landlord from Southsea, Portsmouth at Winchester Crown Court on Friday 5 May 2006 was fined £42,000 (plus prosecution costs of £18,000) for breaches of gas safety legislation which led to the fatal CO poisoning of 11-year-old Katie Overton died on the night of 29 March 2003 in rented premises in Oxford Road, Southsea. The CO fumes came from a gas boiler which was found to be in a poor condition and had not been serviced since 1996.

Clark had pleaded guilty on 11 April 2006 at Andover Magistrates' Court under Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. (3 years after the child's death).

Gas safety watchdog Corgi claimed recently that up to 1 in 5 gas fitters were "cowboys". It said that as many as 25,000 "incompetent and illegal" gas workers could be operating in the UK.

Corgi chief executive Mike Thompson said: ''By using illegal workers, people are putting their lives and the lives of their family in danger because they cannot be sure that they have the qualifications and experience they need to fit gas appliances safely."

The HSE have an excellent website about the problem with information and links.

CO-Gas safety is a charity that educates about the problem and they have a powerful on-line video they have made to re-inforce the problem especially relating to young children who are far more vulnerable than adults.

It won't happen to you ? - 28th June 2006 The Times

French-born Mr Nicholas Giauque, is an extremely wealthy director of the London hedge fund firm Noonday Capital, he was 86th place in the Sunday Times rich list.

He and his wife Nathalie and three small children moved into a rented mansion in 2003 in Wimbledon, south London, while waiting for work to complete at their new £3 million home nearby.

The Giauques were shown a valid gas certificate issued within the previous 12 months and were satisfied every care had been taken with the deluxe property, which was rented privately.

But an inquestat Westminster Coroner's Court heard the boiler was not checked for 2 years and CO fumes made their way through the cavity walls and floorboards above the boiler room into daughter Elisabeth's bedroom .
Staff at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, did not spot the astonishingly high levels of CO in the blood ( normally 0.-0.8 mg it was 21.5mg), at least 20 times what they should have been and diagnosed her with meningitis. Dr Michael Perkins, a specialist registrar in paediatrics, diagnosed her with meningitis and started a course of antibiotics. She died.

It was only when Elisabeth's aunt and uncle, stayed over in her bedroom two days later and began vomiting that doctors detected carbon monoxide poisoning and made the connection with Elisabeth's death.

The inquest was told by Michelle de Court, of the Health and Safety Executive, that they could prosecute the landlord of the rented house, Hussein Jajbhay, as he had failed to get a Corgi-registered engineer to carry out a gas safety report for the boiler for the past two years.

The inquest was also told by Corgi-registered gas engineer Adam Kaczmarczyk that he had warned Mr Jajbhay in 2000 the boiler could kill someone if the conditions were not right. At the time, however, he said the boiler, which was in the utility room directly below Elisabeth's bedroom, complied with Corgi regulations.

Nicolas and Nathalie, 34, who have two boys aged four and two, have since established the Elisabeth Giauque Trust to raise awareness of the deadly effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Alarms

Carbon Monoxide Alarms , are available widely ...but take care ...the old British standard BS 7860 was replaced in April this year (2006) by a European Standard € EN50291. No alarms tested and certified to BS7860 can be manufactured any longer. All products must also be CE marked, this is mandatory for any CO alarm.They should incorporate an 85 decibel alarm sound to provide audio warning of danger.

These are on-line sources of alarms - no warranties expressed or implied. Contact your local HSE office online, or HSE Infoline - 0845 345 0055 for further help.... Woolworths ... React Fast .... COdetection.com