Mike Hancock News
MP says stay safe on holiday â take a carbon monoxide alarm
Just £20 could safe someone's life, while they are on holiday, an MP has warned. Mike Hancock, Lib Dem MP for Portsmouth South is backing the campaign by the charity Carbon Monoxide Awareness to urge holidaymakers to take an audible carbon monoxide alarm with them on holiday. They should also check out gas and fossil fuel appliances in their holiday accommodation - especially if heaters and cookers are burning mostly yellow rather than blue flames. But often there are no or few warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning.
In 2006, two children tragically died in Corfu due to a faulty boiler. At the beginning of July an American couple died on their boat from carbon monoxide poisoning. In Scotland, a man who took his still smouldering portable barbecue inside his van for added warmth whilst attending a motorcycle event was overcome by fumes whilst he slept and died in hospital four days later. But carbon monoxide detectors saved a family when on a caravan holiday in Dorset.
Without an audible CO alarm it is unlikely that holiday-makers will even know that they are being poisoned by this deadly gas. Carbon monoxide is colourless and has no taste or smell so there are few warning signs when it's around. Even at lower levels, carbon monoxide causes symptoms that are similar to flu or food poisoning, including headaches, tiredness, nausea and difficulty in thinking clearly. Caravan owners should have their appliance regularly and consider fitting a carbon monoxide detector.
CO alarms should not be switched on during transit on airlines or car ferries. People planning overseas holidays should therefore purchase battery-powered EN 50291 complaint models that can be disabled during the flight or ferry trip by removing the battery or, alternatively they should purchase a suitable EN 50291 complaint model that has an on-off switch.
Mike Hancock said: "Just £20 is not a large investment to be a bit safer on holiday. I would urge everyone to consider taking a carbon monoxide detector with them on holiday. We have seen tragic examples where people have died on holiday due to CO poisoning. If people have any suspicions about devices in their own home, they should report them immediately to their holiday rep. It is also I also want to see more regulation of holiday companies both in this country and abroad so that they work harder to make sure people are safe."
People should also fit carbon monoxide alarms in their own homes. Mike Hancock said: "It is easy to put off buying an alarm for one's own home but people should consider spending a few pounds to be safe not only on holiday but also at home. There are few other warning signs otherwise.
People can get more information on the internet from the Carbon Monoxide Awareness website at www.covictim.org and the Health and Safety Executive's website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/co.htm and CO - be alarmed at http://www.co-bealarmed.co.uk/
Carbon Monoxide Awareness President Lynn Griffiths said: "There have been a number of tragedies and numerous near-misses in this country and abroad in recent years. No one should take it for granted that their hotel room, holiday home, caravan or canal boat is safe. Audible CO alarms don't cost much and could be the best investment any holiday maker ever makes. They can be bought from any hardware store or supermarket and they're small enough to fit easily into a suitcase."
Carbon monoxide poisoning causes in the region of 30 deaths in England and Wales every year and there are numerous near misses, many of which go unreported. Carbon monoxide produced by faulty, poorly maintained or poorly ventilated fossil fuel appliances can quickly build up to levels that can kill in confined spaces such as hotel rooms, caravans, boats and holiday homes.
Notes:
Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced when fossil fuels burn without enough air, usually as a result of poor maintenance of central heating boilers and appliances such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas, or kerosene-powered fridges, heaters or cookers. It also becomes a major problem when flues become partially or wholly blocked. Carbon monoxide poisoning reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood and so starves vital organs of oxygen. The symptoms worsen as more carbon monoxide is breathed in and CO concentrations in the blood increase.
Anyone who suspects they may be suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning should immediately turn off all appliances, go outside and seek medical help from a qualified healthcare professional or, if in the UK, call NHS Direct on 0845 46 47.
Do not use heaters or cooking appliances that produce yellow instead of mostly blue flames. Malfunctioning appliances should be turned off and not used again until they have been checked and made safe by a registered engineer.
People with milder symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning usually begin to recover when they leave the contaminated area and move into fresh air. Exposure to high levels of CO can kill.
The Holiday campaign by Carbon Monoxide Awareness is supported by the Health Protection Agency, Merseyside Fire and Rescue plus many more. Lynn Griffiths, was poisoned by Carbon monoxide for over a decade herself. She is President of Carbon Monoxide Awareness the charity and the Founder of: the national Carbon monoxide Awareness week. Lynn may be contacted on 07715 899296. The charity has a new website: http://www.covictim.org/
There is more on the deaths in Corfu at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6093714.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/6605119.stm
Details of the boat deaths in America at http://nsbnews.net/content/281861-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-cause-death-married-palatka-boaters-fourth-july-near-disapp
Details of the death in Scotland is at http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/185664/Tragedy-of-biker-killed-by-barbecue-as-he-slept-in-his-van/
There are details of the Dorset incident at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6523157.stm These were not audible alarms which are better.
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