LEAKING GAS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1611, 14 January 1903, Page 42 (Supplement)

LEAKING GAS

The chief cause of poisoning by illuminating gas is the gradual leakage which occurs from the gas mains ana which permeates into the floors and atmosphere of cellars and basement dwelling rooms. Ordinary illuminating coal gas, according to the “Lancet,” contains about 7 per cent, of carbon monoxide, which is its most poisonous constituent. At the present time the only warning of leakage is the powerful odour of the mixture. The normal average leakage of gas in London from the mains is estimated at 1748 millions of cubic feet per annum. Many cases of anaemia and general weakness attributed to disease or to overwork are traceable to slow poisoning by gas. Dr Samuel Lloyd has described the symptoms of such a case. A female teacher suffered from severe headache, saw “flashes of light” before her eyes, had an intensely tired feeling, and became very anaemic. Other people who had lived in the same house and had suffered similarly were told that it was due to malaria, hut the true cause was ascertained to he gas, and on removal the patient rapidly recovered.