Each year more than 4,000 people are poisoned by carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that can prove fatal in our homes, our workplace, or even outdoors. A report launched today as a result of a 6-months parliamentary inquiry shows how the toll of carbon monoxide (CO) on peoples lives, theirs health and the NHS budget can be reduced.

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Gas Safety Group inquiry, explains:

“Low-level carbon monoxide poisoning is a constant risk to us all. Because the gas is so difficult to detect, and the symptoms (such as, headaches) so common, many people may be poisoned without knowing it. Moreover, a crude calculation suggests that the effects of such poisoning are currently costing the NHS £178 million a year.

But as this report shows- changing this situation is relatively easy. Carbon monoxide alarms must become as common as fire alarms; everyone needs to be CO aware. One take-away cup of coffee costs more than one year’s protection by a CO alarm!”

The Department of Health revealed figures last month, which indicate that about 4,000 people have been diagnosed with low-level carbon monoxide poisoning, 200 people have been admitted to hospital and 50 people have died due to the carbon monoxide poisoning.

The actual figure of those affected is estimated to be substantially higher, but currently remains undetected due to lack of public awareness and difficulties of diagnoses because the symptoms are fairly common. Although the long-terms effects of CO poisoning are not yet fully researched, scientists believe that they range from long-term brain damage to death.

Carbon monoxide is easily produced, with the most common sources due to faulty boilers or badly ventilated ovens. According to the report, this not only poses a hazard for Gas Emergency Services and Ambulance personnel but also in leisure time, when individuals have taken barbecues into their tents causing fatalities whilst camping.

The report by the All Party Parliamentary Gas Safety Group calls for the government’s, industry’s and health sector’s cooperation to raise awareness, improve detection and develop better regulation to prevent poisoning, recommending that:

  • The Medical Research Council and Industry should collaborate with other research funding authorities to:
    • Enable studies to examine the neurological effects of repeated exposure to carbon monoxide at low-levels
    • Examine the consequences of acute and low-level exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning by conducting a longitudinal study
    • Support studies that attempt to assess the prevalence of carbon monoxide poisoning across different population groups
  • The Government should trial for GPs to prescribe Gas Safety Checks for suspected carbon monoxide cases
  • Ambulance Services should ensure that every one of their operative has carbon monoxide monitoring equipment outside of the hospital environment

The report will be launched simultaneously with “Be Alarmed”, a national campaign to reduce the death toll and injuries due to carbon monoxide, which calls for every household to be fitted with an audible carbon monoxide alarm as supported by the parliamentary inquiry.

Written by: Petra Rattue