Page 26 - Gi flipbook September 2018

Fighting the silent killer

conditions, providing treatments that Eddie Hughes’ private member’s bill to researcher Roland Wessling, himself a
may do more harm than good and make CO alarms mandatory in all victim of carbon monoxide poisoning,
which waste NHS resources. The HSE rented properties and new builds. no victims or victim groups were
rarely undertakes an investigation We also want the law clarified or invited.
unless there is a death. changed to insist on a service or a test CO is a worldwide problem that
Experience has shown us just how of the flue gases rather than a simple should be of concern to governments,
confusing it can be to be exposed to gas safety check without equipment. I industry and consumers. I recently
CO. CO can affect a person’s higher have advocated for this proposal in asked the GDNs to contact the United
intellectual functions and victims are the past, which I maintain should also Nations about the danger of CO in
often unable to secure the scene to include a check on the CO alarm refugee camps. There is even some
prevent changes to the evidence, every 12 months. research pointing to CO as a cause of
especially if they are renting the Thankfully, we’ve received a lot of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. For
property. Even where the evidence is support for this, including from IGEM, this reason, I believe we need all
preserved, I cannot recall a single for which we are very grateful. stakeholders to learn the lessons of
victim who knew how to find a gas However, Mr Hughes has since the past, consider practical issues and
expert who could investigate and withdrawn his bill because the issue has make improvements. Victims are a
report as an independent court been referred for review by the All valuable research resource in this
witness. While solicitors advise Party Group on Carbon Monoxide effort, so they too need to be involved.
instructing these experts, investigations Our data compiled so far may only
can easily cost around £8,000. be the tip of iceberg. So far we’ve
Without proof, there is no case. found that solid fuel causes more
Without cases, both the government unintentional CO deaths per user
and industry can say there isn’t a CO than gas. Yet solid fuel installers do
problem, or, if there is, that it is not have to be registered by law, as
small. In fact, the problem could be gas installers do.
huge. Most agree the actual Gas is much cleaner than most
figures and costs are far higher other fuels. Other sources of
than the oft-stated 40 deaths and energy are coming, but gas still has
4,000 A&E admittances per year, a future. I appeal to readers to
at a cost of £178 million a year. We support a change to the law to
simply don’t know the scale of the make registration of all installers of
problem because, despite 3,500 appliances powered by carbon-
unexplained deaths every year, the UK based fuels compulsory. I also appeal
carries out no automatic testing of dead to members of IGEM and other
bodies for CO. members of the fuel industry to
In the absence of any easily provide proper funding for what this
obtained data about CO from all charity does. ■
fuels, we have compiled our own
from talking to victims and their (APPCOG). While we appreciate ■ Email your questions and
families, from newspaper reports and APPCOG should of course contribute, comments to office@co-gassafety.
any other sources we can access. we are concerned the issue is not being co.uk or visit www.co-gassafety.co.uk
When we started, the numbers dealt with by HSE. After all, most for more information
from the Office for National Statistics registered gas engineers use flue gas
(ONS) did not seem to differentiate analysers and, obviously, you cannot
between CO from house fires and CO guarantee safety from CO merely by REFERENCES
www.hse.gov.uk/foi/internalops/hid_circs/technical_osd/
from appliances. Data has since looking at a gas appliance. We fear the spc_tech_osd_30/spctecosd30.pdf, page 26.
improved, but to compare our data ‘review’ may be an excuse to delay. www.co-gassafety.co.uk/one-survivors-story
www.co-gassafety.co.uk/information/press-pack-2018,
with that of the ONS, we need the In an era where counselling is king, pages 14-16.
name of the deceased, the date of the only form of victim support www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3244422-
To-think-this-is-isnt-right-Carbon-monoxide-related
death and the place of death. So far, regarding CO in the UK seems to be www.co-gassafety.co.uk/about-co/numbers-affected-by-co
we have been told that the names provided by me, a volunteer. It is my www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Carbon-monoxide-poisoning/Pages/
cannot be released, although every hope that one day a larger organisation, Introduction.aspx
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/
CO death has a public inquest. We are such as Gas Safe Charity or Gas Safety cmcomloc/50/50iii132.htm
still working on this. Trust, will be able to provide properly- www.newscientist.com/article/mg18424765-600-the-killer-
We obtain a huge amount of detail funded and much needed support. We with-no-name and https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/
article/96/4/269/1528560
from families. For example, following would also like to see greater www.newlawjournal.co.uk/content/hidden-killer
the death of 11-year-old Katie Overton leadership from organisations such as www.thefreelibrary.com/Destination+brain per cent3a+inhale
d+pollutants+may+inflame+more+than+the+lun
in 2003, we discovered that either a IGEM on this issue. gs.-a0227652701
test of the flue gases, a service of the In May, the International Carbon
appliance, or a CO alarm fitted to EN Monoxide Research Network (ICORN) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As a new member of IGEM, I am honoured to be asked to
50291 would have saved her life. We was launched by Gas Safety Trust at write this article. I would also like to thank fellow member
John Atkins and the IGEM Membership Services team for
were therefore supportive of MP the House of Lords. Apart from CO encouraging me to join.

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