Calor Gas warns viewers of BBC 2's The House that £100k built not to replicate activity at home
Calor Gas Ltd, the largest LPG distributor in the UK, was extremely concerned to note that the episode of “The House that £100k Built” which aired on BBC2 on 2nd October showed how to recycle a gas cylinder into a light fitting.
The programme implied that a Calor gas cylinder was used and the programme showed a cylinder belonging to Calor’s subsidiary, Budget Gas, being dismantled.
Such activity is not only highly dangerous but also unlawful. Throughout the duration of their life, gas cylinders remain the property of the gas cylinder company and it is only they who, as the owner, can lawfully dispose of the cylinder.
Last year, the Health and Safety Executive successfully prosecuted a company, one of whose employees had been seriously injured whilst trying to do exactly what this particular episode of “The House that £100k Built” was promoting: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-se-3112.htm
Any vessel which contains a highly flammable and potentially explosive substance must be handled responsibly and with respect. Unfortunately a man was killed last year when he took an angle grinder to a supposedly empty oil drum: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-19035426
By showing such activity, Calor are concerned that both the BBC and Endemol (the programme’s production company) were not only promoting an unlawful activity to the general British public but also potentially endangering the lives of viewers who aspire to follow the advice offered in the show.
Calor Gas Ltd are concerned that not enough steps have been taken by the BBC to alert the programme’s 1.9 million viewers that the activity shown is extremely dangerous.
Decommissioning a gas bottle is an extremely hazardous process which those in the LPG industry are only allowed to conduct in specialist facilities, using highly trained personnel and following established safety procedures – all overseen by the Health Safety Executive. The demonstration in the episode clearly did not meet this required level of safety. From the footage, it would be reasonable for a viewer to think they could use an angle grinder on a gas cylinder in its natural state; it is worth noting that this could result in an explosion and significant injury, if not death, to the user.
Anything less than a full recognition from the BBC that the footage shown could have serious implications for the safety of the viewing public could only seen as negligence on the Corporation’s behalf. We expect the BBC to broadcast a formal statement, in order to alert viewers to the dangers involved.
