Industrial Oxygen - Hypothetical Scenario

[Ted Judah]

Supposed a diver in a remote location was suffering from a decompression Illness and all you had available was industrial oxygen... could you, should you, would you administer it to the diver?
Discuss.

 

[broncobowsher]

Industrial O2 has a higher purity requirements than medical O2
What's the issue here?

 

[Ted Judah]

Industrial O2 has a higher purity requirements than medical O2
What's the issue here?

I think you have that backwards.

 

[L13]

I think you have that backwards.

He was right and you are wrong. Medical Oxygen is required to be 99.0% Industrial Oxygen is 99.5%. (Medical Oxygen has a required moisture content).

Edit: Did a little research and there is some variability in specs depending on where you look, but Industrial is always equal or more pure than medical.

 

[Wookie]

I would have no issues breathing Industrial oxygen on the surface.

Industrial isn’t the same as welding.

Industrial is pretty clean.

But TBH, I wouldn’t have any issue with welding grade either. On the surface.

 

[Ted Judah]

He was right and you are wrong. Medical Oxygen is required to be 99.0% Industrial Oxygen is 99.5%. (Medical Oxygen has a required moisture content).

Ah yes. The more I read the more nuanced it becomes. With medical oxygen moisture is often added at the bedside BTW. Medical, Industrial, Aviation Oxygen all come from the same production sources using the same separation methods and the only difference is the cost and the paper trail.

 

[Ted Judah]

I would have no issues breathing Industrial oxygen on the surface.

Industrial isn’t the same as welding.

Industrial is pretty clean.

But TBH, I wouldn’t have any issue with welding grade either. On the surface.

I didn't know industrial and welding were different. That said, your dive buddy is sick. Help is coming but will take over a day to get there. The only oxygen on the island is used by the local with a greasy welding shop. - what do you do?

 

[L13]

I didn't know industrial and welding were different. That said, your dive buddy is sick. Help is coming but will take over a day to get there. The only oxygen on the island is used by the local with a greasy welding shop. - what do you do?

Use the oxygen. Even welding oxygen is pure and safe enough to breath at 1 ATA. I might be a little concerned about using it in an emergency dive at depth (if I didn't know the source), but even then it would probably be ok. There won't be a whole lot of impurities other than other air gases. (if you know the source, welding O2 and medical O2 are probably the same thing, so no concern at all).

 

[Wookie]

I didn't know industrial and welding were different. That said, your dive buddy is sick. Help is coming but will take over a day to get there. The only oxygen on the island is used by the local with a greasy welding shop. - what do you do?

Oxygen is oxygen.

Have at it.

I’ve actually watched ABO and welding filled on the same rack at the same time. The ABO is triple vacuumed before filling and starts first, but still, same time.

 

[Wookie]

I didn't know industrial and welding were different. That said, your dive buddy is sick. Help is coming but will take over a day to get there. The only oxygen on the island is used by the local with a greasy welding shop. - what do you do?

By the same token, I owned a liveaboard for 20 years. I kept 2 Ts of medical on the boat, because we were an island, possibly days from help. It’s not that hard.