Aico 260 Series manual Europes Leading Manufacturer, Rbon Monoxide CO Alarms

Europe's Leading Manufacturer

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rbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms

What are the effects of CO poisoning?

Carbon Monoxide poisoning can have a very serious, even fatal, effect on the body. Unfortunately, most people are unaware that a relatively low level of CO exposure for a prolonged period can have the same effect as a high level of CO exposure for a short period. A major problem is that the symptoms of CO poisoning can easily be confused with other common illnesses - such as cold and flu. The table details the effects of cumulative CO exposure.

Is there any evidence of CO in the home?

In January 2006, the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies at the University College London, in partnership with Guys & St. Thomas Hospital, carried out a survey into indoor CO exposure. It was found that 18% of the homes monitored had CO levels that exceeded the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) guidelines.

32 Members of Parliament report to the Government on the dangers of CO poisoning

The publication of a report by the House of Commons All Party

Parliamentary Gas Safety Group (APPGSG) in September

2006 has once again raised serious questions concerning the dangers of CO poisoning in the home. The report titled “Shouting about a silent killer: Raising carbon monoxide awareness” looks at all aspects of the dangers that CO can create and makes proposals on what action should be taken to address these issues. As the title suggests, the main focus is on raising awareness of CO and its dangers with the general public, but it makes some very pertinent comments for Landlords to take into serious consideration:

Excerpts from APPGSG Report 14th September 2006

•Too many people continue to be harmed or even killed as a result of this entirely preventable problem.

•One death from CO poisoning is one too many.

•Improving CO detection by emergency workers and increasing the number of reliable CO detectors in the home is key to the fight to tackle CO poisoning incidents. Every home should have a CO detector with an audible alarm. We call on mortgage and insurance companies to investigate whether requiring all homes to have such an alarm should be part of granting a mortgage or insurance cover.

CO Parts		Ei Alarm
per	Symptoms	Response
million		time
	Shortness of breath on	Within 90
50ppm	physical exertion, tightness
		mins
	felt across forehead.
150ppm	Headache after 1 hr.	Within 40
		mins
200ppm	Headache, fatigue, dizziness,	Within 40
	nausea after 2-3hrs.	mins
	Frontal headache within 1-	Within 3
400ppm	2hrs, life threatening after
		mins
	3hrs.
	Dizziness, nausea &	Within 3
800ppm	convulsions within 45
		mins
	minutes. Unconsciousness
1,600pp	Headache, dizziness & nausea	Within 3
	within 20 minutes. Death
		mins
	within 1hr.
3,200pp	Headache, dizziness & nausea	Within 3
	within 5-10 minutes. Death
		mins
	within 25-30 minutes.
6,400pp	Headache, dizziness & nausea	Within 3
	within 1-2 minutes. Death
		mins
	within 10-15 minutes.

•The HSE has an important role to play. We press the HSE to introduce a zero-fatality target on CO poisoning.

•Stacy Rogers [Dominic Rogers Trust] proposed that CO detectors should be a mandatory requirement for all rented accommodation.

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