title: Indoor carbon monoxide: a case study in England for detection and interventions to reduce population exposure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Potential exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) in private homes is largely unquantified.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To estimate prevalence of potential exposure to CO in residential dwellings and describe associated interventions in an inner-city community.
  
  
  METHODS
  A housing association in London, Hackney Homes, began fitting CO alarms in the 22,831 local authority homes it is responsible for in January 2010. A gas engineer investigated each alarm activation and recorded the information on a standard form. We undertook a cross-sectional study of all 22,831 homes, using data from these forms. Descriptive analysis was performed, including incidence, monthly variation, cause of alarm activation, and actions taken.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between November 2011 and April 2012, 106 incidents were reported. Of these, 34.6% identified an issue with a gas appliance, and 10.6% identified misuse of cooking methods as the cause of activation. Relevant interventions were put in place, including disconnection of the gas appliance and education around cooking methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Little is known about the burden of CO poisoning in residential dwellings. This study provides important information on the path to quantifying population exposure to CO as well as establishing a possible approach to access this key information and realistic interventions to reduce potential exposure.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Health Protection Agency, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon, UK.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Close
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Staines
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cutter
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Leonardi
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000032:analysis*; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D002249:Carbon Monoxide Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002248:Carbon Monoxide