§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will introduce measures to improve the safety of domestic heaters which emit potentially lethal gases. [36827]
§ Mr. BattleThe safety of new domestic gas appliances, including domestic heaters, is controlled by the Gas Appliances (Safety) Regulations 1995 ("the Regulations") which implement into UK law the European Council's Gas Appliances Directive.
To protect consumers against the hazards posed by combustion products, such as carbon monoxide, the Regulations require that:
570W(a) appliances must be so constructed that, when used normally, flame stability is assured and combustion products do not contain unacceptable concentrations of substances harmful to health, and there is no accidental release of combustion products;(b) flued appliances must be so constructed that in abnormal draught conditions there is no release of combustion products in a dangerous quantity into the room concerned; and(c) independent flueless appliances and flueless instantaneous water heaters must not cause, in the room or space concerned, a carbon monoxide concentration likely to present a danger to the health of the persons exposed, bearing in mind the foreseeable duration of their exposure.To ensure that gas appliances comply with these and other important safety provisions, manufacturers are required to submit their product to a third-party Notified Body for type approval before it may be placed on the market. Manufacturers must also appoint a Notified Body to undertake periodic surveillance of the production process in order to ensure that the product continues to conform to the type that was originally approved.
The appropriate measures are in place and my Department therefore has no plans at this stage to introduce any further measures.