oxygen tank death

[Bob DBF]

The associated photo shows multiple cylinders none of which appear capped.

Definatly not best practices. The only time I see uncapped valves are when they are restrained while being used or filled. I'm sure OSHA will have a field day, unfortunately it's too late for the victim.

Yes I have seen some other than capped or restrained, but that's when I go into full a$$hole mode. In my youth, I managed to avoid a runaway industrial cylender but got see the damage, and although no one was injured, it made an impression on me. I don't know how SCUBA cylenders got off the hook for the caps, the valves are more robust than industrial valves, but still...


Bob

 

[tech_diver]

The story doesn't where or when this happened?

 

[Dan]

When I worked in pilot plant, we check monthly on the gas cylinder storage (regardless whether they are full & empty cylinders) to make sure all of them are capped. Those in use would have regulator with update tags.

SCUBA gas cylinders don’t come with screw caps. We just need to be aware that we won’t be on the line of fire when the valve broke loose.

 

[2airishuman]

Definatly not best practices. The only time I see uncapped valves are when they are restrained while being used or filled. I'm sure OSHA will have a field day, unfortunately it's too late for the victim.

Yes I have seen some other than capped or restrained, but that's when I go into full a$$hole mode. In my youth, I managed to avoid a runaway industrial cylender but got see the damage, and although no one was injured, it made an impression on me. I don't know how SCUBA cylenders got off the hook for the caps, the valves are more robust than industrial valves, but still...


Bob

It's not just SCUBA cylinders. Cylinders below a certain size aren't required to have the caps. The idea is that small cylinders don't develop enough momentum to shear off a valve if they fall and the valve hits something before the cylinder does. B and MC size acetylene don't have any valve protection, for example, nor do portable medical gas cylinders. I'm not sure what the exact threshold is.

 

[JackD342]

Hmm.. there's a couple points they raise that are confusing to me.

• Use a dolly when moving a high-pressure cylinder – keeping the valve away from the employee
• Have caps in place when moving a cylinder

How are you going to tilt a dolly away from you? Unless you've got reeeaally long arms, it seems impossible.

What sort of cap are they talking about? I assume something other than the little rubber things that dive shops use, but I'm at a loss.

I can't figure out your dolly question. I interpret the dolly as meaning a two wheel hand truck. Does that help?

 

[2airishuman]

The narrative is unclear. The most likely explanation I can come up with is that the valve ejected from a pressurized cylinder while the protective cap was in place. The protective caps are not strong enough to withstand the considerable forces that full cylinder pressure would deliver and would have come off. Due to the rounded shape of the cap it would result in blunt force trauma to whoever it hit.

The most common cause of valve ejection is incompatible threads, either threads that are the same size but that differ in form (as with British vs USA threads), or threads that are a similar but not identical size and pitch (as can happen with certain combinations of metric and non-metric threads). Another possible cause is threads damaged by wear or corrosion.

The industrial packaged gas industry has an excellent safety record overall. If I'm not mistaken there are more fatalities per capita in construction (and many other industries).

Then again the photo makes it look like they don't use caps.

 

[Vitesse2l]

If that photo is of the actual location it all looks a bit slapdash. There's several things in there that I'd question as a layman.

Nasty accident, whatever.

 

[Diver below 83]

Being torn through just by the pressure is nuts

 

[Bob DBF]

Being torn through just by the pressure is nuts

Now think about your SCUBA tank, a higher fill pressure. It's kept me damn careful for decades.


Bob

 

[ScubaBunga]

<rant>
First, I'm sorry for this driver - but there has to be something done with the sensationalized headlines!! The accident is described as: "A resulting autopsy showed broken ribs, fractured spinal column and lacerations through his abdominal region. The final autopsy conclusion stated that the death was caused by blunt force, the force of gas escaping the cylinder. They did not find evidence of the valve penetrating the victim." How is that "disembowels"??

Isn't the death enough of a headline? Do the journalists (good ones have to be embarrassed by all this) have any schooling anymore? Is click-bait the only way news is delivered.
</rant>