Research carried out by npower Hometeam has revealed that at least 22 million households in the UK are failing to take seriously the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, some 20 people in the UK die every year as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. Hundreds others suffer serious injury or illness.

Despite the obvious threat of carbon monoxide poisoning, Hometeam’s research, which canvassed the opinions of 2,000 people, found that 83 per cent of respondents who owned gas fires failed to have them regularly serviced. More than 66 per cent of respondents admitted neglecting safety checks on other gas appliances, such as central heating boilers and cookers.

The survey also revealed that just 50 per cent of respondents ensure boilers receive an annual service, despite a third of boilers in the UK being older than ten years. Only 40 per cent of homeowners in the UK have installed a carbon monoxide alarm, which alerts occupants of excessive carbon monoxide gas. Incredibly, 20 per cent of male respondents did not even know what a carbon monoxide alarm was!

The marketing manager for npower Hometeam, Joan Coe, said: “Carbon monoxide poisoning is often caused by failure or damage to gas appliances, which prevents fuel from burning properly and, because CO is colourless and odourless, leaks can be difficult to spot.

“Older appliances are a greater risk when it comes to CO leaks as they’re more likely to be inefficient and malfunction, wasting money and risking health. So it’s particularly worrying that at least a third of UK boilers are more than ten years old, not to mention other gas appliances such as fires and cookers”.

Ms Cole added: “Millions of homes could be at risk of a carbon monoxide leak, but whilst many of us are aware of the risks associated with fire and are likely to have a smoke alarm installed, attitudes to carbon monoxide poisoning have yet to change in the same way and very few of us have carbon monoxide alarms in place”.

Hometeam’s research comes just months after the ‘Carbon Monoxide – Be Alarm!’ campaign claimed 65 per cent of households in Britain were at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

With stories of carbon monoxide poisoning hitting the media hard in recent weeks British Gas has stepped up its work to raise awareness about the dangers of the ‘silent killer’.

Energy UK’s carbon monoxide awareness campaign Be Alarmed! is being backed by the energy supplier British Gas to make more people aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide is produced when fuels containing carbon (like gas, oil, coal and wood) burn without enough air. And as it’s odourless, tasteless and invisible, it’s difficult to detect.

In order to keep safe, homeowners, businesses etc are being reminded of how important it is to keep heating appliances regularly maintained by a professional. It is also advised to have an audible CO alarm in properties as this can detect even the smallest amount of carbon monoxide before the levels become dangerous.

In fact, it was just such an alarm that saved singer Charlotte Church and her young family from a carbon monoxide danger earlier this month. The singer had an alarm installed in her home on her grandfather’s advice after suffering headaches and almost as soon as the work was done, the reason for her headaches became clear – a faulty boiler.

Steve Giblin, director of health, safety and environment for British Gas, said: “Raising awareness of carbon monoxide and highlighting the importance of ensuring appliances are regularly maintained is one of the ways we look after our customers’ worlds.

“That’s why it’s important to remember that when it comes to maintenance, it’s better to be safe than sorry and install an audible carbon monoxide alarm.”

Research by Be Alarmed! shows almost two thirds (65 per cent) of people in the UK could be at risk from carbon monoxide because they do not have an audible carbon monoxide alarm.

For more information on the campaign, visit www.co-bealarmed.co.uk

Rising fuel costs are linked to thefts

West Mercia Police is urging residents who use oil to heat their properties to be extra vigilant.

The caution has be made in light of a theft in the county, which happened earlier this week. The incident on Tuesday, January 11, involved hundreds of litres of heating oil being stolen from a farm property near St Weonards, Hereford. A number of similar thefts have also occurred recently in Shropshire and Worcestershire.

Sgt David Bishop at Hereford Police Station said: “While this is not a large problem, we have noticed a slight increase in such crimes in the county. It is possibly due to the increase in fuel costs over recent months so they may become more prevalent across the country. We are warning local people who use heating oil to take precautions against being targeted by thieves.”

Sgt Bishop has issued a number of hints and tips to help reduce the chances of heating oil being stolen from your property.

These include:

• Use plant shrubs or fences to hide your tank from view.

• Remember to check your tank’s oil levels on a regular basis.

• Remove any empty containers or drums from the immediate area – they could draw attention to the presence of your oil tank.

The vast majority of gas installations in Britain are perfectly safe and legal. However, the Gas Safe Register, which is a safety body that took over from Corgi in April this year, has called for the public to raise its awareness of illegal gas fitters. In plain terms, Gas Safe certification is the basic legal standard for any gas engineer in the country – anybody not on the Gas Safe Register who undertakes work on gas installations and appliances is breaking the law. Moreover, unqualified gas engineers risk causing harm, injury and even death to their customers.

Indeed, the statistics on carbon monoxide poisoning, which is commonly associated with unsafe gas installations, makes for grim reading: during the last year, 234 people have been hospitalised and 14 people have died. Furthermore, according to the Gas Safe Register, there are some 7,500 illegal gas fitters in active service throughout Great Britain. Obviously, having so many engineers in circulation who do not possess the skills and qualifications of Gas Safe engineers is of great concern to many domestic energy consumers. In particular, students and the elderly are at greatest risk because they are not always in control of who works on their gas fittings and appliances.

The Gas Safety Register’s campaign to raise public awareness on the issue of illegal gas fitters follows new research that suggests cowboy fitters are responsible for around 250,000 gas jobs each year. This staggering and disturbing figure is punctuated by incidents involving engineers who were previously Corgi registered but whose accreditation had expired or did not cover particular appliances. In short, the best advice is to always ensure that gas appliance and boiler installations are carried out by Gas Safe engineers. If in doubt, the Gas Safety Register provides a free gas safety inspection of the home – do not leave it too late.

Caused by the incomplete burning of all carbon based fuels, Carbon Monoxide, otherwise known as CO is not only tasteless, colourless and odourless, it is also incredibly poisonous. Fuels that can create CO include oil, coal, wood and gas, and are perfectly safe to use, it is only in the case of them burning poorly that they produce the excess harmful CO.

Carbon Dioxide is absorbed into the body by the air we breathe, and harms us by preventing the blood in our systems from providing essential oxygen to our organs, tissues and cells. This is because it “tricks” the body into putting itself into the spaces in the blood where oxygen should be.
According to information provided by the HSE, around 20 people per year die from CO poisoning primarily caused by gas consuming appliances and their flues which have not been correctly installed originally, maintained or in a poorly ventilated area. There are even more cases of people being harmed by COs from breathing it in over a long period of time, such as brain damage and paralysis in the worst case.

How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide

The dangers of Carbon Monoxide in the home can be decreased significantly by following some simple rules, these include:
Using a Gas Safe registered installer whenever a gas appliance is installed in the home. These include gas fires, as well as boilers and central heating systems, and when required, must have a flue installed.

Servicing all flues and carbon based fuel appliances in the home regularly to make sure that not faults have occurred.

Keeping the area in which your gas appliance is located well-ventilated at all times, ensuring no flues are blocked or vents obscured.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoining Symptoms

Many of the early symptoms of Carbon Monoxide (CO) are often mistaken for the symptoms of other common ailments and are ignored by many, such as viral infections and flu, as well as food poisoning or simple just feeling tired and run down. These symptoms include:

• Feeling Tired
• Recurring Headaches
• Giddiness
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Odd Pains in the Chest
• Breathlessness and Shortness of Breath
• Pains in the Stomach
• Odd and Erratic Behaviour and Mood Swings
• Drowsiness
• Blurring of Vision or other Visual Problems

If you experience any or many of these symptoms and are worried about CO poisoning, it is essential that you seek medical advice urgently, either from you own GP or at an accident or emergency department. A breath test or blood test is essential to confirm or renounce the presence of CO in the body, but CO is known to quickly leave the body and blood within four hours so tests are known not be inaccurate if taken after this time. If you require any more information about CO poisoning and its symptoms, visit the NHS direct website, or telephone 0845 4647 for advice.

What Should I Do Now?

Having a working, audible CO detector in the home is vital not only for piece of mind, but also to warn you if there is a build-up of the deadly CO gas. Regularly check your CO detector to make sure that it is functioning correctly, and if you have any doubts then replace it immediately.