Why don’t we learn?

Jagvir Goyal

The death of a teenage girl in Mumbai on January 15 this year as a result of poisoning due to gas emanating from a gas geyser has sent shockwaves across the country. In a similar incident, on December 8 last year, fire in a factory building in Delhi killed more than 40 persons while many were injured.

Such incidents keep recurring at regular intervals yet we don’t learn a lesson and take precaution. Let’s have a look at such areas where precautions must be taken to avoid more such casualties:

Be aware of harm

Power failures tempt people to opt for gas geysers instead of electric geysers for their bathrooms. New constructions prefer gas geysers for bathrooms. Prices are competitive, geyser size is compact and LPG consumption is quite less. Water temperature can be varied by adjusting outflow. There is no fear of electric shock. So gas geysers look to be an ideal choice. And people get them installed in the bathrooms unaware of the potential threat they pose.

Silent killer

Most users of gas geysers get these installed inside the bathrooms. During winter, bathroom windows and ventilators usually remain closed. Exhaust fans are not switched on during bathing. So, no ventilation is available. Combustion of LPG takes place inside the geyser producing carbon monoxide. Prolonged use of geyser builds-up carbon monoxide in the bathroom. This gas strikes without warning. Carbon monoxide is an odourless and colourless gas. It causes depletion of oxygen leaving the user unconscious after a five-minute-long inhalation. Continuous inhalation of the gas is fatal. Pink colour of the body gives the idea of fatal effect of carbon monoxide.

Precautions to take

The best solution to avoid lethal strike of gas geysers is to get these installed outside the bathrooms, along with the LPG cylinders stored outside and connect them to the faucets installed inside the bathrooms. Under no circumstances, should a gas geyser be installed inside the bathrooms. Unfortunately, this warning has been given many times through multiple media yet ignorance about it continues.

Fire safety concerns

Another important precaution to be taken is against breakout of fire. For fire safety, the most important step is to avoid a short circuit, the most common cause of fire breakout in a house. A short circuit occurs when two points in an electric circuit having a potential difference accidently come in contact with each other. It happens when electric wire’s insulation breaks down or when overloaded wires get overheated causing damage to wire insulation. Therefore, never buy inferior or substandard wires for your house. Use only ISI marked wiring of reputed make only. Choose electrolytic grade 99.97% pure copper wiring, these being much safer than aluminium wiring. Prefer wires with three layered insulation and water resistant coating.

Manufacturer’s role

Gas geyser manufacturers can play a pivotal role in stopping deaths due to gas geyser use. They need to simply put a big bold lettered sticker or print on the geysers for their installation only outside the bathrooms. Government should pass regulations against their installation inside the bathrooms.

A word of caution for house builders

If a house builder chooses gas geysers for his house, he should plan it at initial stage itself and instruct the plumbers to provide water inlets and outlets for geysers on outer face of bathroom walls and not inside the bathrooms. If this point gets overlooked and plumber provides water inlet and outlet connections inside the bathrooms, there is no alternative except to use electric geysers.

Look for ISI Mark: In order to have a safe gas geyser for your bathroom, besides its installation outside the bathroom, look for IS 15558 mark, assigned by the Bureau of Indian Standards for mini domestic water heater for use with the LPG. In addition, look for flame sensor, gas auto-cut on overheating, water safety device which doesn’t allow the release of LPG gas when there is no water supply, battery-operated automatic ignition, automatic timer for switching off geyser after pre-fed time and above all, an oxygen depletion sensor if available.

Provide good earthing system

Use three pin plugs for maximum appliances. Provide good earthing system for the house and see that every electric point in the house is connected to it. Never try to save power bill by tampering with the earthing system.

Avoid using multi-plugs

Multi-plugs may cause overheating of electrical wires leading to melting of their insulation and causing danger of short circuit. Instead plan provision of enough 5 ampere and 15 ampere sockets carefully at construction stage itself.

Install an ELCB

Get an Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker (ELCB) provided in your house. It will save you and your family from electric shock. Any small leakage of current will make it trip. Sometimes, an ELCB causes irritation during rainy season when the walls are wet and ELCB keeps tripping again & again. However, safety from shock is more important so prefer ELCB installation.

— The writer is former HoD and engineer-in-chief, Civil Engineering Department in a Punjab PSU