Which Hazards Do Gas Detectors Protect Against?

Gas detectors are a critically important piece of safety equipment. There are many different types of gases that are harmful to human life, and having an alert system is our first line of defence against these hazards.

There are two major types of gas detectors – single and multiple. Like their names suggest, single gas detectors excel at identifying solely the substance they are calibrated for while multi-gas detectors can cover a wide variety of situational requirements.

Aside from simple gas detection and identification, here are some other hazards that gas detectors can protect against:

• Confined Space Hazards
  Confined spaces create a special sort of hazard, as the presence of workers and substances within the same space can cause the risk of injury to increase significantly.

There is a variety of common gases that will need to be considered when workers are placed in a confined area, which is why a gas detector is such an important addition to any set of safety practices. Potential issues that can occur within a confined space include toxic and flammable gases.

• Toxic Gases
  Toxic gases can directly harm the health of an individual by creating a metabolic reaction in their body or by damaging their tissue. Exposure to these substances can cause both long-term and instantaneous effects that are problematic to your health.

These substances are typically found at significantly smaller concentrations compared to flammable gases, as the gas concentrations don’t need to be as high to do as much damage.

Gas detectors will take measurements gradually over time to record the maintained level of exposure in order to calculate the Time Weighted Average, or TWA. Taking into account both short-term and long-term exposure, the device will keep an accurate recording for each individual person and allow for easy reading to ensure effective safety protocols for all workers.

• Flammable Gases
  Gas detectors are also used to protect people from  flammable gases. These substances create an explosion risk, encompassing a variety of gases such as propane, hydrogen, methane, and pentane, although many more also exist in this category.

Detectors create a safety net for users by keeping track of the surrounding area’s Lower Explosive Limit, or LEL range. This is basically the smallest amount of flammable gas that would be needed to ignite. LEL alarms tend to be set around 10% or 20% as this will give the user plenty of advanced notice of a rising level of dangerous substance so that they can get out of harm’s way.

Workplace safety is at the forefront of every employee and employer’s mind, and as well it should be. If you want to ensure your safety while working in potentially hazardous conditions, you need to take the proper precautions.

Our experienced team at Australian Dynamic Technologies is dedicated to supplying high-quality safety products and services to help enhance the safety levels of workplaces around our community. Our state-of-the-art hazard detection systems efficiently monitor various situations to ensure that everything in the surrounding space is running smoothly, and if need be, giving you enough advanced warning to avoid a hazardous gas incident.