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Plumb and Parts Center, part of Wolseley UK, is calling on the government to extend tough laws on audible Carbon Monoxide (CO) detectors to the whole of the UK.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have legislation in place to tackle CO poisoning, but Plumb and Parts Center believes this should cover the whole of the UK.
Around 50 people a year die from accidental CO poisoning in England and Wales – with around 4,000 admitted to hospital with symptoms, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
“The number of people we lose every year because of CO poisoning is unacceptable,” said Plumb and Parts’ marketing manager Gail van Dijk, speaking ahead of its annual Wise up to CO campaign. “Especially because it’s so avoidable.
“In Northern Ireland and Scotland CO alarms are a legal requirement when new or replacement boilers, solid fuel or gas appliances are installed – and we’d like to see tougher regulations in England and Wales.
Plumb Center’s Wise up to CO campaign is designed to educate installers, home owners and its own staff about the deadly threat of CO poisoning. It is now an annual campaign, which is running again in May 2013.
From April to July, its network of more than 500 branches will display external banners, safety cards, dispatch stickers, boiler stickers and information leaflets – and put on special events.
“We hope that as an industry we can come together, and make tragic CO deaths a thing of the past,” said van Dijk.
