CITY students are to be warned of the dangers of faulty gas appliances through an e-mail and text message campaign.
The Council for Registered Gas Installers (Corgi) is highlighting the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning in rented accommodation by targeting more than 20,000 students at Edinburgh University.
As well as e-mailing students, a text message survey is being planned to gauge whether landlords are fulfilling their duties.
Each year, more than 30 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning due to faulty gas appliances and flues.
The gas is odourless and has no taste or colour so is virtually impossible to trace without the help of a detector.
A spokeswoman for Corgi said the initiative, which would be running in the autumn, was aimed at raising awareness of the “silent killer”.
The national gas safety watchdog wants to ensure landlords maintain all gas fittings and appliances and carry out annual safety checks by registered installers.
It also wants records of each safety check kept for two years and copies issued to tenants before they move in.
Edinburgh South MP Nigel Griffiths, who helped launch the campaign, said it was the first time this method of awareness raising had been used.
“Knowledge of basic gas safety tips could be the difference between life and death,” he said.
“I hope this will be a trail-blazing scheme and we can eradicate unnecessary deaths.”
He added: “Four thousand students who leave halls of residence this year will receive information packs highlighting the dangers of carbon monoxide. E-mail was chosen as an effective way of getting in touch with students because they access it constantly.”
Carbon monoxide can be spotted by sooting or staining on or around the appliance, a yellow or orange flame instead of blue and excessive condensation in the room where the appliance is installed.
Corgi is still discussing with university chiefs how to launch the text message survey.
Will Garton, president of Edinburgh University’s Students’ Association, welcomed the initiative. He said: “We would support anything that highlights the possible dangers of carbon monoxide and faulty appliances and holds to account landlords who do not take care of properties which students pay large amounts of money for.”
He added: “We have a large number of students in rented accommodation and this is a forward-thinking policy affecting student welfare which is a high priority for us.”
Mike Thompson, chief executive of Corgi, said: “Students are a group who can be particularly at risk from poorly maintained gas appliances.
“This campaign will educate both landlords and students in Edinburgh on the vital importance of gas safety.
“It will push the message that although gas is very safe when handled correctly, it can be lethal if an appliance is left to fall into disrepair or if someone is working with gas when they aren’t properly qualified.”
Watchdog chiefs want landlords to ensure gas fittings, appliances, pipework and flues are kept in a safe condition.
Corgi advises that appliances should be checked for safety annually by a registered gas installer, ventilation should never be blocked and DIY projects involving gas should never be done by unqualified people.
Cases of poisoning tend to rise in the winter months because boilers and other gas appliances are being used more heavily.
From The Scotsman