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Demographics
and kettle safety
With an ageing population in which the number of very elderly
people is rising fast, certain safety aspects of household appliances
are becoming even more important, reminds Sian Lewis,
Association Executive of AMDEA.
The UK population is not only growing and they are concentrating in particular on more than 70 standards related to
in size but it is also getting older. According the temperature of the external surfaces appliances.
to the Office for National Statistics, 16% of of appliances such as toasters or kettles
the UK population in 2008 was over 65 where contact may be inadvertent, such ‘Accessible surfaces’
with more than 1.3 million people aged 85 as brushing your hand against the side of Earlier this year one of the technical
and over. Although the effect of the post- an appliance. committees of CENELEC (the European
war baby boom will start to decrease All appliances must satisfy a variety of Committee for Electrotechnical
around 2030, the number of these “oldest statutory safety requirements including Standardization) discussed the first results
old” in the UK is projected to double by the Electrical Equipment (Safety) of this work and agreed to propose new
2033 so that almost 5% of the total Regulations (under the European Low limits for ‘accessible surface temperatures’.
population could be aged 85 or more. Voltage Directive) which require that These limit values are set for
While many of these very elderly people “temperatures which could cause a temperatures of ‘accessible surfaces’ (ie
are relatively fit and well they are generally danger must not be produced”. not those of functional surfaces such as
less agile and have poorer eyesight than However, it is not just the temperature hobs) according to material. The values are
younger adults and their capacity to that has to be considered. The likelihood now likely to be based on data relating to
recover from even minor injuries may be of a burn from an appliance will vary vulnerable persons such as the elderly and
impaired. according to the material used and its older children rather than healthy adults
There are a variety of requirements in the surface texture (for instance a plastic which was the basis for the current limits.
standards governing the safety of kettle versus a metal one). And the risk of Some heating appliances have never had
household appliances, particularly with serious injury is related to the period of limits before and the committee has also
reference to their use by “vulnerable contact with the hot surface and varies been considering the use of warning labels
persons”, a category that covers small with the age of the user – even healthy for those products that are unlikely to be
children, the elderly and people with older people have thinner skin and slower able to meet the lower values. The
physical or mental disabilities. reaction times than younger adults. changes will take some time to be become
Some years ago consumer groups part of the standard in Europe.
New standards persuaded the EU Commission that the However it is worth noting that many
This issue is under active review by the safety standard for appliances (EN 60335) people currently over 85 survived World
European Standards body, CENELEC, needed amendment because it War II, worked longer hours than most of
considered that it contained an exclusion us do today and have watched their
clause saying that children could not use children and grandchildren grow up
appliances. While there was never throughout several recessions. They may
agreement that this was in fact the case, not take kindly to being advised that a
a working group was set up to revise kettle may get hot… a73
“Some heating appliances have never had limits before
and the committee has also been considering the use of
warning labels for those products that are unlikely to
be able to meet the lower values”
18 The Independent Electrical Retailer December 2009
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