Consumers Beware! Ensure safe use of portable generators
The tragic death of 11 Indian nationals working at a restaurant in a ski resort in Gudauri, Georgia, from generator exhaust fumes is a grim reminder of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators.
What is most heartbreaking about these tragedies, whether in Georgia or in India, is that they can be easily prevented with consumer education, proper warning labels and a mandatory safety feature that automatically shuts off the appliance when the carbon monoxide (CO) concentration in the air goes beyond the permissible levels.
The incident in Georgia grabbed wide media attention in India, but many such avoidable tragedies caused by portable generators in different parts of the country go mostly unreported. So much so that we do not have proper statistical data. However, even what little gets reported should cause concern.
In March this year, a wedding celebration in the picturesque Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir, took a tragic turn when five persons had to be rushed to the hospital with acute CO poisoning from the generator kept running inside the building. While an 18-year-old boy was declared dead, the other four were said to be in critical condition.
In February last year, three persons in a village in Gajapati district of Odisha were affected by the lethal emission from the generator. Here, too, of the three people who went to sleep with the generator running close-by, two were found dead in the morning and one had to be admitted to hospital.
In most cases, the tragedies happen when the victims are sleeping — the nature of CO is such that they may not become aware of the danger to their lives. Even when the victims are awake, the gas causes confusion, lethargy and loss of control of limbs, making it difficult to escape to safety. In higher concentrations, it leads to loss of consciousness, long-term heart and brain damage, and death.
The biggest lesson that needs to be learnt from these tragedies is that generators should never be kept indoors. Even outside, these must not be kept close to open windows or doors; in fact, these must be placed in such a way that the emissions are directed away from occupied structures. Bold, eye-catching labels, warning consumers against keeping the generator in enclosed spaces, are critical.
Manufacturers should also equip the generator with an automatic cut-off switch that shuts down the machine when the CO concentration reaches the predetermined threshold limit. These steps, along with consumer education, would go a long way in safeguarding the interests of consumers.
Another appliance used extensively during the cold winter months that has been responsible for CO-induced deaths in the country is the non-electric, portable, unvented room heater. Whether they work on LPG or natural gas, kerosene or diesel, wood or coal, without adequate ventilation, they all pose the risk of fatal CO poisoning.
In the last week of January this year, two members of a family, including a three-month-old baby, died while a third member was hospitalised in Noida. The culprit was the LPG-fired room heater operated in a closed bedroom without any ventilation. In January last year, the lives of four members of a family were suddenly cut short in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. Here again, the family had kept the gas heater switched on in a room without any ventilation.
Given the popularity of these appliances in the cold winter months and the avoidable deaths caused by them, we must have stringent safety and quality standards for them. The standard should also provide for an automatic safety switch that cuts off fuel supply to the heater and shuts it down in case the CO level in the room goes beyond the safe limit. And the standard should be made mandatory.
I must also remind manufacturers that they have a responsibility not only to ensure the safety of their products, but also to educate consumers on their safe use. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, failure to provide adequate instructions on the correct usage can invite product liability action.
I would also recommend popularisation of carbon monoxide alarms and subsidies to make them available at low prices, so that they become affordable. In my article, ‘Bring fuel burning room heaters under the ambit of safety norms’, published in these columns on January 7, I explained why CO levels go up to alarming levels when these fuel-based heaters are used in an unventilated room and the effects of the toxic gas on those inhaling them. So, I will not go into those details here. But I will, once again, warn consumers about the risk of CO poisoning from appliances that run on fossil fuels operated in enclosed spaces, including coal braziers or angeethis.
I would also advise consumers to always turn off the heater (even electric ones) before going to bed.
— The writer is a consumer rights and safety expert
