25 May 2012
A study has revealed that thousands of homes in England are not fitted with a carbon monoxide (CO2) detector.
Firefighters warned that people across the country could be exposing themselves to “suffocating” levels of the poisonous gas after a study of 27,000 homes found 90% were without detectors.
Teams from Merseyside and West Midlands Fire and Rescue Services then focused their research on a group of homes in the North West and the Midlands to gauge levels of the gas.
Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University were also involved in the study, which found more than 20% of the 173 homes analysed in Coventry and Liverpool contained potentially harmful levels of the gas of more than 50 parts per million.
Lead academic Dr Andrew Shaw said: “At levels of 50 parts per million you would be having symptoms such as headaches, tiredness and drowsiness.
“At 50 parts per million the carbon monoxide is starting to suffocate you without you knowing it.
“It takes four to six hours for carbon monoxide to leave your system. It is very stubborn.”
Copyright Press Association 2012