An oxygen deficiency is one of the most common atmospheric threats. Oxygen concentration sensors would appear to be among the most often utilized types of sensors incorporated in portable atmospheric monitors, especially those used in procedures for monitoring confined space settings. But even though millions of oxygen monitors-equipped atmosphere monitors are currently used in the US, there is still a significant lot of misinformation about the performance characteristics and limits of this highly essential sensor. Due to their newness on the market, oxygen monitors account for this.
In close quarters, the risk of death is greater
Sadly, occupational accidents involving deaths as a consequence of a lack of oxygen are all too common. Sadly, it seems as though the same materials and settings produce accidents in small areas again and over again. Four men died and three were seriously injured in a terrible incident that happened on a barge not long ago due to a shortage of air in a small space.
The shortage of oxygen in the chamber was caused by the rusting (also known as oxidation) of the exposed metal in the confined region. Workers were repairing the barge earlier in the day to maintain it in operating shape. During their morning break, they discovered that one of the crew members had not yet returned and was still on board the boat. The worker and three others who tried to save him died during the rescue effort. Significant injuries have been inflicted on further rescue personnel. This is where the Industrial Oxygen Monitor comes most essential.
What Makes Oxygen Monitoring So important?
While welding inside the barge’s vessel, one welder passed out from lack of oxygen because of the low oxygen levels. Again, the oxygen shortage was caused by corrosion in the shipboard compartment’s exposed metal. Four more workers entered the hull in an attempt to revive the unconscious welder, but their efforts were in vain. Only the welder was killed, but the other four workers were hurt.
The owner of a small winery recently passed out and died as a consequence of their injuries while removing a sample from a wine fermentation tank. Another individual tried to save themselves by entering the tank, but they were unsuccessful. Both individuals passed away. The absence of oxygen, which was caused by the displacement of oxygen by carbon dioxide produced during the fermentation process, was determined to be the root cause of the disaster.
Finally, a pulp plant worker entered a tank without doing an air quality test. After the tank had been inertly filled with odorless and colorless nitrogen as part of the inserting procedure, the worker had collapsed from a lack of oxygen. At the tank’s entrance, a second worker fainted and subsequently slumped to the ground. One of the employees was unable to be revived.
Each and every one of these deaths was caused by asphyxiation due to a lack of oxygen. Oxygen deprivation may be deadly. At concentrations of less than 10% oxygen, a single breath is typically all that is needed to produce unconsciousness. There is a risk of permanent brain damage or perhaps death if the individual who has been unconscious is not woken up quickly. Human senses are unable to detect oxygen deficiencies.
Sign for Oxygen Shortage
Unless equipment is used to directly detect oxygen depletion, the only sign that there is a shortage of oxygen may be that personnel begin passing out. This is due to the fact that employees passing out are an obvious indicator of a problem at the workplace.
What does it mean to have an oxygen deficiency?
The amount of oxygen in the air we breathe on a daily basis is around 20.9 percent. Nearly eighty-eight percent of the remaining mass is nitrogen. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and argon are only few of the gases that make up the remaining fraction of the gas mixture.
The Right Low Oxygen Environment
Confined spaces are more conducive to the development or maintenance of low oxygen environments. Oxygen deprivation is a common occurrence in enclosed areas due to the mechanisms that generate it having an impact on both the objects contained inside and the surfaces around it. Microbial activity, displacement, combustion, oxidation, and absorption and adsorption may all cause an oxygen shortage. Performing one’s job is also a crucial aspect. The use of solvents, paints, and degreasers, as well as hot labor, may all affect the quantity of oxygen in the air.
When the oxygen concentration falls below or rises over 20.9 percent, it indicates an abnormality. The presence of a contaminant in an environment being evaluated is indicated by a greater or lower concentration of another component or oxygen in the sample.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that a potentially dangerous condition may be present in the confined space, workers should investigate the cause of the abnormal reading before entering the area. The best course of action is to avoid the region until it has an oxygen concentration of 20.9 percent, which can only be determined by monitoring. Entering at this moment is the safest option.
