BURSAGAZ ATTENDED A PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE PREVENTION OF CO POISONING

The meeting commenced with a speech by the Provincial Health Department Manager Dr. Özcan AKAN on CO poisoning and its causes. Akan began his remarks by saying the effect of south-west winds increases significantly in Bursa during cold weather due to the city's geological structure and, accordingly, poisonings occur as a result of consumers not taking the necessary precautions. He explained that between 2009 and 2010 there were a total of 32 deaths and 2441 poisonings recorded. He emphasized that the research demonstrates that such cases are especially high in low socio-economic status regions and stated that work carried out to address these issues has been focused on these related regions. Despite this effort, little results have been obtained: the research reveals that 48.5% of Bursa still uses solid fuel, 86.4% of houses have outlets and the outlets of 28% of these houses were closed for various reasons, only 8% are using CO detectors, and that aluminum flex is being used as the primary chimney material although steel is necessary, with only 22% of houses utilizing steel.

Secondly, the Metropolitan Municipality Head of the Fire Department, Mr. Orhan Doğan, took the floor. Doğan stressed that chimneys have to be routinely cleaned, that no one in the market is competent in chimney cleaning and that only the Head of the Fire Department is authorized in doing this. He added that the line to call to request chimney cleaning is 443 34 52 and that these requests will be responded to within two business days with all necessary transactions also completed within two business days. After stating that stoves must not be lit on days when the south-west wind blows, Doğan left the floor to Director of Bursa Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, Mr. İbrahim Mert.

Mert asserted that having chimneys installed properly according to their appropriate fuel use is among the top priorities in terms of importance. He maintained that illegal housing and shanty houses threaten human life as they are not in accordance with engineering standards and the incorrect organization of chimney outlets or the improper use of instruments in chimney construction in these buildings lead to deaths by CO build-up. He emphasized that the appropriateness of chimneys must absolutelyy be checked, for which an audit can be scheduled by calling 444 8 666.

The meeting continued with Bursagaz Director of Customer Services, Mr. Osman Kipoğlu, taking the floor. Kipoğlu began by explaining what CO means and how it is formed. He stated that chimney gas, or carbon monoxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless but poisonous gas, that it is emitted as a result of the burning of natural gas, petroleum oil, petrol, bottled gas and especially solid fuels such as wood and coal, and that CO production increases when there is not enough oxygen to ensure proper burning and thus causes poisonings. He stated that Bursagaz undertakes many measures to prevent such cases from occurring, including the distribution of 10,000 informative brochures to educate the public, and that they allocate 10 cm at the top of invoices emphasizing the safe use of natural gas, while also educating about the safe use of natural gas in various media sources, on the official website of Bursagaz and on radio and TV programs. Kipoğlu added that the appropriateness of the installation is 100% controlled by Bursagaz before turning on the gas, with the gas only being turned on if the installation is suitable, but that users often close outlets after the gas has been turned on and, as a result, poisoning cases occur frequently. Touching upon the fact that annual chimney maintenance will both increase effectiveness and greatly reduce poisoning, Kipoğlu stated that the company regularly meets with EMRA to make annual routine maintenance a legal obligation and that they are doing everything in their power to have a law enacted to address this.

Finally, Mr. Ümit Erturhan, representing BACADER, stated that, according to research, building chimneys constructed in Turkey are not fully compliant with regulations and that this leads to poisonings, that chimneys must be built according to the chimney standards in zoning regulations, and that the phenomenon of tile chimneys was discontinued in 2008. He maintained that auditing of the appropriateness of chimneys has begun in Bursa, that the city of Bursa was acknowledged as the pilot region for this auditing and that appropriate chimney norms will be shared with the people of Bursa.

The meeting lasted for approximately two hours and ended with a question and answer period between the participants and the audience.