Indoor carbon monoxide: a case study in England for detection and interventions to reduce population exposure.
J Environ Public Health
; 2013: 735952, 2013.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23690806
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Potential exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) in private homes is largely unquantified.AIM:
To estimate prevalence of potential exposure to CO in residential dwellings and describe associated interventions in an inner-city community.METHODS:
A housing association in London, Hackney Homes, began fitting CO alarms in the 22,831 local authority homes it is responsible for in January 2010. A gas engineer investigated each alarm activation and recorded the information on a standard form. We undertook a cross-sectional study of all 22,831 homes, using data from these forms. Descriptive analysis was performed, including incidence, monthly variation, cause of alarm activation, and actions taken.RESULTS:
Between November 2011 and April 2012, 106 incidents were reported. Of these, 34.6% identified an issue with a gas appliance, and 10.6% identified misuse of cooking methods as the cause of activation. Relevant interventions were put in place, including disconnection of the gas appliance and education around cooking methods.DISCUSSION:
Little is known about the burden of CO poisoning in residential dwellings. This study provides important information on the path to quantifying population exposure to CO as well as establishing a possible approach to access this key information and realistic interventions to reduce potential exposure.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Carbon Monoxide
/
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
/
Air Pollution, Indoor
/
Air Pollutants
/
Environmental Exposure
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
J Environ Public Health
Year:
2013
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Reino Unido