CONSUMER RIGHTS
When geysers can be fatal
Pushpa Girimaji

It’s time we seriously considered whether LPG-based water heaters, known popularly as gas geysers, should be allowed to be sold at all in the country. And if allowed, what are the mandatory precautions that need to be taken by manufacturers as well as retailers to ensure the safety of users. In the last couple of years, sudden and tragic deaths, mostly in bathrooms, have been linked to carbon monoxide poisoning caused as a result of using geysers in closed and unventilated bathrooms.

Gas geysers have become extremely popular in recent years. But in the absence of adequate safety features as well as lack of safety education, they have also been the cause of deaths. Initially, in many cases, the deaths were not even linked to the gas geysers.

In Bangalore, for example, where several deaths have taken place on account of carbon monoxide poisoning, forensic experts say that in the earlier cases, the police dismissed the deaths as accidents or caused due to natural causes. However, when the number of bathroom deaths went up to eight (five women and three teenagers) in a couple of years, the investigators started looking more closely at the causes and found that all of them had certain common features.

All the bathrooms were fitted with gas geysers, all the deaths had taken place in the bathroom and all the victims had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. This rang a warning bell that the cause was the gas geyser.

Experts say that it is quite possible that there might have been more such deaths in different parts of the country, but they must not have been linked to the gas geysers. Experts also say that most people instal the LPG cylinder outside, but keep the geyser inside. Since combustion takes place inside the geyser, the unit should also be kept out. In fact, while bathing, the bathroom should be well ventilated, say experts. In cold climates that is not a practical suggestion. Another piece of advice is not to spend too much time in the bathroom. They also say that the geyser is best switched off before using the bathroom.

This brings us to the all-important question of safety of these geysers, most of them said to be imported from China. If we had a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as in the US, these tragic deaths could have been prevented. Because the CPSC in the US investigates into product-related accidents or deaths and immediately orders withdrawal of products found to be hazardous, for a full refund. If possible, it will suggest certain changes in the product quality to make it safer. It also launches safety education campaigns to create consumer awareness about the safe use of the product. In fact in the US, it is mandatory on the part of the manufacturer and the retailer to report any accident, howsoever minor, related to the product. Failure to do so invites heavy financial penalties.

In the absence of such a commission here, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs would be best suited to investigate the accidents and take appropriate measures to protect the interests of consumers.

It can, for a start, immediately constitute a committee of subject experts drawn from scientific organisations, oil companies and the Bureau of Indian Standards to first determine whether the product should be banned and those in use should be recalled for a full refund, so as to prevent further accidents and deaths. Or else, the experts should decide whether the product could be rendered safe through consumer education and certain additional mandatory safety features, including a carbon monoxide warning mechanism.

It would not be enough to merely write warnings and safety instructions on the product package or the product itself. The retailer would have to actually supervise the installation and instruct the users on its safety. But carbon monoxide sensors are a must because I am told that these geysers are now being used in some small hotels too, where many an unwary visitor may become a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning. So immediate action is called for to protect consumers and prevent further gas geyser deaths.

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