9 June 2004 - HSE Multilingual Leaflets: Available for Summer Gas Safety Checks
There is a series of leaflets now available, which the Health and Safety Executive have published. These leaflets will not only provide guidance for landlords, but also new safety advice for consumers.
This series of leaflets are available in twelve different languages i.e. Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Czechoslovakian, gujarati, hindi, Polish, Punjabi, Turkish, urdu and Welsh.
The information within the leaflets Gas Appliances: Get them checked, Keep them Safe, advises new information for the consumer, with regards to suspected exposure of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
If you suspect either yourself, or members of your family have been exposed to CO poisoning, then you should consult your own General Practitioner as soon as is possible. Blood tests or breath samples are required to confirm whether carbon monoxide is present, although tests may be inaccurate if taken more than four hours after exposure has ended, so early consultation is advisable.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may lead you to simply suspect common ailments, such as flu or just tiredness, therefore consultation with your Doctor is advisable, if you are at all in doubt.
The leaflets also explain how you can be sure your Gas Installer is registered with the Council for Registered Gas Installers. These professional installers are known as CORGI trained.
There are simple diagrams within the leaflets showing the difference between safe and dangerous gas appliances and provides information regarding the use of Carbon Monoxide alarms, which can be used as a back-up warning device. These alarms are recognised as a good precaution to take, but as the leaflet explains, they are only a precaution and not a substitute for correct installation and regular maintenance of gas appliances by a qualified CORGI Registered Installer.
There are
also leaflets for Landlords "A Guide to Landlords' Duties: Gas Safety
(installation and use) Regulations 1998" again multilingual, which
explains the Landlords' duties. It clarifies how the Landlord can be sure
their Gas Installer is CORGI Registered and provides them with the knowledge
of their duties, regarding the safety of gas appliances, flues' and Annual
Safety Checks.
It was said by Patrick Maple of Gas Safety Policy at HSE:
"Now
that summer is here, it is a good time for Landlords to get their tenants'
gas appliances checked. Should maintenance be necessary, it is less
inconvenient for tenants compared to carrying out the same exercise in the
middle of winter. Private residents would also do well to have their gas
appliances checked when there is less reliance on using them. These
translated leaflets have been produced to increase accessibility to gas
safety information, particularly in getting gas appliances checked."
HSE and Health and Safety Commission (HSC) each have a duty to publish race
equality schemes, however, HSE have acknowledged how closely linked both
groups are and have shown their commitment by joining in partnership with
HSC to achieve improvement by publishing these leaflets.
The revised edition of the Race Equality Scheme, published in September
2003, took account of consultations with stakeholders, employers and workers
from Ethnic minorities and contains HSC/E updates with relevant actions
taken.
Gas Safety leaflets can be obtained from here.
The Race Equality Scheme September 2003 edition can be viewed here.
