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Pipes & valves
TMVs combat scalding risk
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has renewed calls on the Government to change the legislation surrounding the Thermostatic Mixing Valves (TMVs) in both domestic and commercial applications
grave risk from scalds and burns. These include: • 34% of scalding admissions were aged nine years or under; • Nearly 19% of scalding admissions were aged 60 years or over. If you combine the figures for those aged over 60 and those aged nine and under, it equates to 53% of the overall statistics, whilst those groups make up just 24% of the UK population. This is bad news for schools, care homes and hospitals, where the young, the old and the disabled are at a high risk of injury. This is mainly due the young and elderly having thinner skin, age or disability, reduced communication ability or a lack of awareness of dangers. With institutions obliged to stop the growth of Legionella bacteria in their plumbing systems by storing water at a minimum of 60°C - and circulating at 55°C - many are caught in a ‘catch 22’ situation. It’s not just hot tap water causing problems, it’s all too easy for radiators, towel warmers and central heating pipes to reach temperatures high enough to cause burns if touched. In fact the NHS Digital admission figures also showed that: • 29% of admissions for contact burns from heating appliances, pipes and radiators were aged nine years and under; • 39.7% of admissions for contact burns from heating appliances, pipes or radiators were aged 60 or over.
A So what can we do? With scalding hitting a death
rate of around 20 people a year and the total cost of burn and scald injuries to the NHS estimated at around £20 million a year, the CIPHE sites several points when it comes to preventing scalds and burns. In commercial buildings, hot water services should be designed and installed in accordance with the Water Supply Regulations 1999 and relevant parts of BS 6700:1997 and BS EN 806-2:2005. Water circulating at 55°C will present a scalding risk. Therefore, TMVs should be installed to blend hot and cold water to a safe temperature at the outlet. When installing TMVs there are a number of points to take into consideration.
www.heatingandventilating.net Firstly installers must be aware of the type of TMV
required. As a general rule, TMV2 valves are for the domestic market, housing association properties, hotels and the majority of schools. TMV3 are suitable for high-risk commercial healthcare applications such as hospitals, nursing homes and schools for the severely disabled. In healthcare and local authority care home
applications, all points of use accessible to patients require water temperature to be controlled to a safe limit. All properties that have a ‘duty of care’ towards
ccording to the latest hospital admission statistics for 2018/19 from NHS Digital, the most vulnerable in society continue to be at a
A thermostatic mixing valve installation
inhabitants, (e.g. schools and nurseries) should also take steps to limit the temperature of hot water at the point of use. It should be remembered that TMVs must be
accessible for regular servicing and maintenance. All too often this is forgotten and aesthetics become more important than safety. Those responsible for plumbing systems, need to
follow regular maintenance routines to ensure all TMVs are fit for purpose. TMV choice and installation location is also vital.
It's not uncommon that reports come into the CIPHE’s technical help-line to say that a TMV has been installed further than the recommended one metre away from the appliance. It should also be noted that taps that blend water at the point of use can cause contact burns if the body of the tap gets too hot. Designers and installers require a full working knowledge of both the system and end users requirements to make informed decisions on product selection, location and installation. Local authorities, premises owners, facilities managers and building management need to deal with the issue of scalding, rather than avoid it. How often do we see that cautionary ‘hot water’ sign next to taps? This message is there for one reason only - the water is simply far too hot and would scald. In these cases, knowledge of the risk is clear and it is inadmissible that no action has been taken. Kevin Wellman, CIPHE CEO said: “I find it
unacceptable that so many innocent people are suffering scalds and burns. The majority of scalding incidents can be avoided, however a lack of legislation and general knowledge continues to hinder efforts to eliminate these incidents. In my opinion, it is unforgivable that Government officials have continued to avoid taking responsibility for preventable burn and scald injuries.” “The CIPHE’s perspective on this is clear. We need
to reduce the risk by raising general awareness of the dangers, we need to change legislation to enforce the use of protective devices such as TMVs, we need to educate those responsible for plumbing and heating systems on the importance of regular maintenance and we need to ensure that all those working on plumbing and heating systems are qualified and competent to do so.”
January 2020
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