Facts about Un-flued Gas Heating

For more detailed infarction concerning Un-flued Gas Heating and its adverse health effects please browse the following links.

• NSW Public Health Unflued gas heaters in schools

• WA Department of Health Unflued gas heaters and your health

Gases

Carbon monoxide: binds with haemoglobin to reduce the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity. At high concentrations this can be fatal; at lower concentrations symptoms include headache or loss of concentration.

Nitrogen dioxide: an oxidising gas that irritates the lungs. There is evidence that it suppresses the body's immune system. At very high levels, nitrogen dioxide can cause fatal swelling of the lungs. At lower levels, symptoms include exacerbated asthma and more frequent and more severe respiratory illness. Australian epidemiological research confirms overseas findings that there is a significant correlation between exposure to nitrogen dioxide and adverse health outcomes, including increased hospital admissions for sufferers of childhood asthma and heart disease.

Carbon dioxide: at elevated levels can cause headaches and may cause changes in respiratory patterns.

Formaldehyde: an irritant gas that potentially affects the skin, eyes and lungs. Some people can become hypersensitive to its effects, resulting in symptoms at very low concentrations. There is evidence that it is a nasal carcinogen.

(Source: Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies Occasional Paper Series Number 5, October 2002, Indoor Air Quality in Australia: a Strategy for Action, pp 9-28.)

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