aH_gUAn 1 Report post Posted March 9, 2007 Sunday February 11, 3:01 PM Japan's Rinnai made no heater recall despite safety flaw TOKYO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Japanese gas appliance maker Rinnai Corp. , mired in a carbon monoxide poisoning scandal, said on Sunday it had made no recalls of its water heaters despite having known since 1999 of a flaw in a safety device. Three people have died while 12 have fallen ill in cases of carbon monoxide poisoning from two models of Rinnai heaters, the company has said, with the first case of poisoning back in 2000. A Rinnai official said the company knew since 1999 that the water heaters had a safety device that stopped working after repeated attempts by users to turn the heater on following incomplete combustion. But the company, not seeing the feature as a defect, had not recalled the models. Water heaters made after late 1999 were improved to "boost safety", the official said. The company also did not make checks after a family of five, using a different heater model, died in 1992 from carbon monoxide poisoning, since police at the time said the poisoning was due to poor ventilation, the official said. The water heater deaths were front page news in major Japanese newspapers on Saturday and Sunday. The fallout risks serious damage to Rinnai's business given that it generates about 70 percent of its revenues in its home market. ADVERTISEMENT The safety of heaters has been in the spotlight since similar accidents linked to unlisted Paloma Industries Ltd. last year. Panasonic maker Matsu****a Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. also came under fire after carbon monoxide poisoning from its kerosene heaters led to two deaths in 2005. The company spent 11 billion yen ($90 million) to recall the heaters. Rinnai, headquartered in the central city of Nagoya, booked group net income of 5.2 billion yen on sales of 213 billion yen in the past financial year ended in March 2006. The company has market capitalisation of about 190 billion yen and is 37-percent owned by foreign investors. ($1=121.71 Yen)***********************************************************************************For those who want to take up Rinnai product, do take note of the above. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
