THE CAR THAT EXPOSED MY FAMILY TO CO: A PERSONAL STORY
Events leading up to the Airsafe study began in 2013, when my family car – a 2007 Seat Ibiza - was found to have been leaking CO fumes into the passenger cabin.
Although we were unaware of the leak, which went undetected on routine services and MOTs, we had been increasingly troubled by ill-health. My middle son, who was six years old at the time, showed a particularly worrying set of symptoms: night sweats, enlarged lymph nodes, and unexplained weight loss.
We were initially told to prepare ourselves for a diagnosis of lymphoma. Further medical investigations, thankfully, ruled this out. Even so, I knew that my son’s symptoms were a very serious clinical presentation, and remained anxious.
Our son’s ill-health persisted without explanation, until one day a section of the exhaust loosened itself from its housing after a drive on a farm track. To my surprise, the mechanic who examined the car began by asking us whether any members of the family had begun suffering from chronic illness after we bought the car. I replied that yes, this was true.
“I think I may have your diagnosis right here,” came the reply. “Come outside and take a look.”
We followed the mechanic to his works yard, where he showed us what was left of the exhaust. A segment of the exhaust was filled with a solid block of soot, which had accumulated over years. Blocked from escape through the tailpipe, gases had been forced out through micro-leaks in the pipes. And we, unawares, had been breathing them – probably also for years.
Within weeks of replacing the car, my son’s symptoms had disappeared.
This, of course, did not prove causation. His symptoms could simply have coincided with our ownership of the car.
But there again, proof of causation was not necessary: we had clearly been in serious danger. It is already well-established that car exhaust contains a wide array of toxins, including carbon monoxide. And, if our garage mechanic’s experience was in any way indicative of the general picture, our experience was far from unusual.
AS THE PARENT OF A CHILD WHO HAD COME CLOSE TO A CANCER DIAGNOSIS, I BECAME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED AS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF WHAT WE HAD LEARNED.
Researching the medical literature on the topic, I found that an earlier study, conducted in 2014, showed a peak average in-vehicle CO concentration of 28 ppm (parts per million): a figure substantially in excess of 3.49ppm, which substantially exceeds the WHO target 24-hour mean exposure level. I also learned that exposure to CO, even at low levels, can result in an array of harms to health, including atherosclerosis, destruction of white matter in the brain, damage to the heart, and disruption of development in the unborn child.
Further literature searches, however, found that no studies sampling cars driven by the general public had been conducted here in the UK.
How big, I asked myself, could the problem be?
GATHERING THE EVIDENCE: THE AIRSAFE STUDY
Deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning are, tragically, all too frequent. A number of charities campaign and lobby on the issue.
To investigate the issue of in-car CO poisoning further, I made initial contact with The Carbon Monoxide and Gas Safety Society, whose chairperson, Stephanie Trotter OBE, was very supportive. Learning that your family has been exposed to toxic gas on a daily basis, probably for years, is a shocking experience, and it takes time to process. To this day, I am grateful for her help.
I was fortunate to be invited to attend meetings of the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group: a set of MPs, industrial representatives, emergency service workers, medics and charities, working together to eradicate the menace of CO poisoning. I have also attended meetings of the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality, and have discussed the issue at a round-table at Portcullis House on CO and the Brain.
It became clear that in order to influence policy on in-car air quality, it would be necessary to produce clear evidence of the problem.
The Airsafe study is my response to this: an independent research project, supported by the CO Research Trust, to investigate in-car CO exposure in the UK today.