RR634 - A review of carbon monoxide incident information, for 2005/06, produced from the full investigation of incidents which had resulted from the use of piped natural gas and LPG, within Great Britain
Introduction
This report covers accidental CO poisoning incidents resulting from the use of piped natural gas for the period 1st April 2005 to 31st March 2006. The information, commencing with the same periods from 1996/97 onwards, is obtained via the DIDR (Downstream Incident Data Report - Form 551/7) form. The information gathering process relies on a DIDR to be completed for each reportable CO incident, by investigators working on behalf of gas suppliers, and sent to Advantica. If any additional reports should be received after publication of this report they will be included in updated annual statistical tables within future reports. It should be noted that suspected intentional incidents have not been included in this report.
The information provided in the DIDR forms is analysed and presented in this report. Tables and plots are given of actual fatalities and incidents. Also plots related to the risk associated with the use of gas appliances, expressed in terms of fatalities per person per year (FPPY), as incidents per person per year (IPPY) and as casualties per person per year (CPPY) are provided. The definitions and use of FPPY, IPPY and CPPY values are described in Appendix A. Fatality, casualty and incident trend data are also presented within this report for incidents that occurred over 10 years from 1996/97 to 2005/06. Appendix B gives details for 2005/06, within appliance groups, of each of the CO poisoning incidents.
Domestic incidents are covered within the main body of this report, whilst details of an LPG incident are given in Appendix C. Appendix D contains data collected for this report on the age profiles of piped natural gas appliances used within Great Britain.
Some inconsistencies may appear within some parts of the report because all of the required information may not have been completed on the DIDR forms. Some information was completed as "unknown" or "other" and in some instances the tick box was not completed (field empty).
The order used in this report follows the layout used in the DIDR - Form 551/7. The form scrutinises each installation under 3 sections with the following headings:
- The incident appliance
- The appliance flue
- The permanent ventilation provisions
Each of these three items is dealt with separately on the DIDR form and within this report. Each item listed could be installed: to current standards, to standards current at the time of installation, not to any appropriate standards or unsure/don't know. For the "incident appliance", elements that are standards-related for the installation include the correct room/location, proximity to walls, fire resistance and electrical safety.
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