From Scuba New England

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Scuba tank flies into Needham Recycling and Transfer Station, smashes through wall

By Steven Ryan
Wicked Local Needham
Posted Jan 12, 2010 @ 04:13 PM
Last update Jan 12, 2010 @ 04:23 PM
Needham —



A scuba tank discarded at the Recycling and Transfer Station on Jan. 7 reportedly smashed through the wall of the main office building at the RTS after its top valve was knocked off, police said.

The RTS superintendent reportedly told police a man dropped off an aluminum diver’s tank in the metal pile earlier that day. The man reportedly dropped off diver’s tanks at the RTS in the past and was told not to do so since the tanks require special handling. An RTS employee reportedly removed the tank from the metal pile and put it by the main office building for further processing.

At some point, the tank apparently fell over, which knocked off the top valve of the tank. Since the tank was under pressure, it was sent flying into the RTS building, going through the building’s metal outer shell, through the half-inch of drywall, pushed aside a chair at the desk and struck the wall to the rear of the office. There were no employees in the office at the time of the accident.

 

[trappist]

RTS should put a simple training in place to prevent any risk if they were to have scuba tanks: when removing the tanks form the containers empty them ! Dedicated place to store them laying flat does not make sense as I guess they do not have that many... but the most secure way to do it is just open the valve and empty the tank...
It is still unbelievable to have people dropping off these without thinking, especially when warned a first time... It seems so much common sense that tanks under pressure (whatever gas could be inside) represent a hazard if not handled properly...