News
Government to review anti-scald bathrooms
Legislation to control the temperature of hot water in bathrooms has taken another step closer with an announcement from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Angela E. Smith that there will be a new review of Part G of the Building Regulations.
Scalding hot water in the bathroom poses a serious scalding risk and claims around 20 lives each year, and whilst the technology has existed for years to prevent scalding accidents, there has been an apparent reluctance to introduce the use of anti-scald equipment into the Building Regulations and into people’s homes.
Anti-scald valve manufacturer Intatec, based in Staffordshire has been at the forefront of not only the industry group that has been lobbying Parliament, but has also produced an ongoing, industry award-nominated campaign to provide anti-scald information for specifiers, merchants and installers.
Commenting on the recent announcement, Cynthia Fisher said “We’re pleased that the legislation now appears to be on the orizon again. It feels like we’ve been at this point before, but then it seemed to disappear into the legislative long grass. There has been some hard and committed work by some people to push this forward, including MP for Wakefield Mary Creagh, who has been instrumental in bringing these common sense anti-scald issues to the fore. We hope that this current review will provide some positive results.”
Similar legislation to that being reviewed was introduced into Scotland last year and a recent Intatec survey has revealed that there is far from 100% compliance within the industry. This, coupled with a lack of public awareness compounds the issue, making Scottish anti-scald bathrooms rarer than they should be. The survey, conducted in the spring revealed that although new home builders appear to be fitting anti-scald valves as they should, it is the refurbishment market that seems to be avoiding it wherever possible. “The next step for England and Wales is to get this legislation introduced,” said Cynthia, “the next will be ensuring that the whole industry takes it to heart. It’s only when there are a significant proportion of British bathrooms protected by anti-scald valves that the number of accidents and deaths will reduce.”
Intatec, which produces probably the best selection of quality anti-scald valves in the UK, will continue to support the industry and the safety issue-focused charities to ensure that anti-scald bathrooms become a standard feature in every home.
ENDS
For more information, please contact
Clive Reeves
01543 501111