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May 18, 2017

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Carbon Monoxide

Engineer fined after Carbon Monoxide leaks

A self-employed gas engineer has been fined after two residents were hospitalised for carbon monoxide poisoning at a house in Pontardulais.

Swansea Magistrates Court heard how 67-year-old Philip Cannon carried out unsafe gas work on a boiler in the property on 23 January 2015. It was found the boiler emitted extremely high levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO). All three present in the property were later treated in hospital for Carbon Monoxide poisoning, including Mr Cannon.

An investigation by the HSE and Gas Safe Register (GSR) found Mr Cannon failed to prevent the gas leak after working on the boiler. He allowed the boiler to operate in an unsafe manner and he also didn’t run the required tests, which would have detected the CO at the earliest chance.

Pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 6 (1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 Section 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, Philip Cannon of Pontardawe was fined £933 and ordered to pay costs of £4,301.66.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector Simon Breen said: “Mr Cannon’s failings in this case were highly traumatic for those involved and entirely avoidable.”

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Stephanie Trotter, OBE
Stephanie Trotter, OBE
6 years ago

We’d really like more details in order to find out exactly why things went wrong and what perhaps could have prevented this. Cannon seems to have been a registered gas installer. Did he use a flue gas analyser? What sort of boiler was it?
If SHP doesn’t know these details perhaps it does know who at HSE could provide this information?
Surely these details must have been given in open court?’

Ray Rapp
Ray Rapp
6 years ago

A very modest fine given the severity of the incident which could have ben fatal I believe. Surely the failure by the gas engineer is so serious as to have his licence revoked?