Gas Safety - diagnosis and prevention

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a gas which is highly poisonous to people and animals. It is colourless and odourless and the body takes it in at 300 times the rate it takes in oxygen. Faster breathing because of lack of oxygen leads to faster intake of CO. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are listed in the inset box below.

Gas appliances need plenty of air to burn safely. With enough air, burning domestic fuels produce carbon dioxide and water in safe amounts. These products are normally carried away by a chimney or flue. However, if there is too little air, carbon monoxide can be produced. This can also happen if the chimney or flue is blocked or obstructed.

Many people are now aware of the dangers of using old or poorly maintained gas installations from the recent publicity drive, yet less are aware that similar dangers exist with heaters burning other fuels. A recent reported fatality (in 1994) concerned a solid fuel burner in a living room of a rented property. Letting Update is also aware of a similar incident involving an incorrectly fitted oil-fired system. Fortunately the pet budgie was the only casualty in this case.

Detection

There are two immediate warning signs that can identify a faulty or dangerous appliance. Either the flame colour or evidence of carbon residues indicates incomplete combustion.A gas appliance should burn with a luminous blue flame. A yellow flame or a strange smell when it is turned on indicates that something is wrong.Other signs to look for are a brown or sooty build up on the canopy of the fire or on any part of the boiler. Carbon builds up because of the reburnt waste. This can also be seen on the burners of a gas fire. If the fire is glass fronted the carbon builds up at the back and so may be missed but a further sign is that condensation builds up more readily on the glass doors.

Anyone using an appliance with a brown or sooty build up or which has a yellow flame should be told to stop using it immediately. British Gas should be called out on the emergency number. They will, if satisfied there is CO coming from the appliance, switch it off. It must not be used until it has been serviced, cleaned and made safe for use. This must be done by a registered CORGI engineer. If British Gas condemns the appliance they will put a warning sticker on the front and disconnect the appliance from the supply.

The tenant should inform the landlord or agent who should attend immediately and rectify the situation. There is no duty on British Gas to inform the landlord. Alternatively, (especially for non-gas fuelled installations) your local environmental health officer may be prepared to visit and check CO levels around a suspect appliance.

Ventilation

All gas appliances must have plenty of ventilation:

 To provide air for the appliance to burn safely.

To carry away waste gases produced by the appliance.

An air brick or vent is essential (except for balanced flue appliances). These vents should never be blocked. When doing any insulating or building work, take care not to restrict ventilation.

Flues

Gas appliances also need to get rid of the waste gases effectively. The 'flue' is a passage for conveying the products of combustion from a gas appliance to the external air. Most modern gas appliances must have a flue or chimney although there are some minor exceptions as we shall see below.
In relation to flues, there are several types of appliance:

Flueless: This type of appliance has no flue (E.g. cooker, sink water heater). Combustion products are vented directly into the room. Only low heat output devices are now allowed to operate in this way.

Open Flue appliance:This type of appliance (see examples below) has a flue which is not sealed and relies on convection of the hot waste gases and 'adventitious' ventilation. The danger with this design is that with a blocked flue, bad flue siting, or adverse wind direction, the fumes can be easily forced back into the room. Since the mid '70s open flued appliances have not generally been put in bathrooms and since 1984 it has been illegal to do so. The result of this is that by 1993 there were no recorded deaths by CO in bathrooms and only 2 in 1994.

Balanced Flue: The preferred type of flue on modern gas appliances is the balanced flue or 'room-sealed' appliance'. Here the combustion system is sealed from the room in which the appliance is located. The appliance normally obtains air for combustion directly from the open air, and also vents the products of combustion to open air outside the premises. The vent and flue are often combined and share the same aperture through the outside wall. The balanced flue appliance thus has no requirement for separate ventilation or air bricks in the room. Balanced flue appliances can be fan assisted - the 'fanned balanced flue'.

Regulation 30

Regulation 30 of the Gas Safety regulations 1994 says that from January 1996 a non-balanced flue (or non room-sealed) heating appliance of less than 14 Kilowatts may be used in a bedroom provided it has a safety cut out which operates when the air is contaminated by CO. Non balanced-flue appliances above this threshold will be prohibited in such accommodation.

It is now illegal to install or use this kind of heater in a bathroom or shower room unless it is a room-sealed appliance.

Second-hand Appliances

Landlords should avoid buying second-hand gas appliances wherever possible. If you have to buy second-hand, then the appliance must be recently serviced and installed by a CORGI fitter.

CO Detectors

These are not officially recommended by British Gas but they accept that they are better than nothing. They have a six month life. However, they can be affected by aerosols and damp which will both turn the indicator black, which is supposed to indicate the presence of CO in the room. Obviously, they do not alert the tenant if the tenant is asleep. If the indicator does show black call the Gas Board immediately.

The use of this type of indicator is only a fall back position. There is no British Standard on an electrical CO detector - one is being developed by British Gas but none are available at the moment. There is one which is available in the USA and which is presently being tested by British Gas.

Explosions

These are in fact relatively uncommon. There needs to be a significant leak to reach the level where there would be an explosion. In a house there would have to be a massive gas escape.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

The Health and Safety Commission, the think tank which helped formulate the Gas Safety legislation was set up by Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

The Commission also set up the Health and Safety Executive to execute the policies of the Commission and to undertake investigations. The powers of the HSE are extensive. Officers carry a warrant and can enter taking anyone they want to with them, including the Police. They can take away any equipment and do not need the permission of a magistrate or a judge. They can take photos and samples. They remove equipment to prevent tampering or destruction and for analysis. A person suspected is required to give a statement and there is no right of silence. Non co-operation will result in court action for obstruction. They can issue notices for improvements, prohibition notices and can prosecute in the Magistrates court.

The only defence to an action is that regular maintenance was carried out, it would also help if the tenant had been informed that s/he should not block ventilators etc.

The HSE have an open door policy and will take information on incidents from anyone. The office then decides whether to investigate. The officer will do an inspection if s/he considers there has been a breach of the law and considers it to be in the public good. If the officer proposes prosecution the matter goes before a Senior Officer and only then to court. Gas safety now has a very high profile because of the number of deaths recently and if they can prosecute they will. A landlord or agent can be fined up to £5000 in the Magistrates court or the matter can be referred to the Crown Court for an unlimited fine.

Management Contracts

By making the agent responsible it is possible that the courts will, in a breach of contract action, and it is arguable that any spending by agents over and above the spend limit in the service contract in order to fulfil the legal requirements of the regulations, is acceptable. This of course is by no means certain.

Alternatively, agents will have to, if they have not done so already, redraft, reissue and probably renegotiate all management contracts for existing clients. This means costs will rise. Landlords will then have to accept that spending limits will be higher in order to meet not only higher levels of maintenance but emergencies such as replacement of dangerous gas appliances. Agents will also need to be clear in the contracts about responsibility for the premises during void periods now more than ever.

Conclusion

The longer term effects of CO poisoning are only now just becoming an issue and it remains to be seen whether the wider criminal law will be invoked against agents, where neglect has lead to deaths, brain damage or other health problems in tenants or members of their families. The regulations are clear and the need for them can be in no doubt - tenants have the rights to be protected when they have no control over the equipment they are paying to use, but the wider effect on management contracts is not so clear.

It could be said that by making agents also responsible for breaches in the regulations, agents are actually the ones enforcing them. Cover yourself by educating your landlords and your tenants and revising your management contracts appropriately.

Best Practice

It may be good to insert a clause into the tenancy agreement on Gas Safety. Here is an example:
IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE GAS SAFETY REGULATIONS IT IS NECESSARY:

a) that ventilators in the premises should not be blocked,

b) that brown or sooty build up on any gas appliance should be reported to the Gas Board using the Emergency telephone number and then to the landlord or agent immediately after by telephone;

c) the Gas Board Emergency telephone number is ....................

d) that regular maintenance be carried out every 12 months. The tenant is required to allow entry with reasonable notice for this purpose and will be issued with a certificate that this maintenance has been done. The service and maintenance will be carried out by a CORGI registered engineer.