fire safety valve for oxygen free sample

The sealing materials must be carefully selected when manufacturing oxygen valves. The sealing materials used at Hartmann have all been approved by the German Federal Office for Materials Research (BAM) in regard to oxygen burnout safety for the related pressure and temperature range.

Already natural grease like from our hands may be sufficient to cause ignition of materials in oxygen environment. Therefore, we have strict rules for the production of the valves, which are fixed in our oxygen work instruction, such as ultrasonic cleaning and the assembly and testing of the fittings in a separate oxygen room. In addition, only special lubricants suitable for oxygen are used in very small amounts during assembly, and the leak test that follows is carried out exclusively with gas. After successful testing, the oxygen ball valves will be packed in welded foil and separately marked to indicate that they are free of oil and grease.

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et al. [10] published a review that identified and compared all reported cases of burns in home oxygen users in the UK. Patient demographics, oxygen delivery type, injury severity, tobacco smoking and patient outcome were all recorded. They found four major series [5, 14–16] and, from these, they reported that in 86 cases of home oxygen burns:The mean age of the patients was 65 years.

From this, it is clear that those at greatest risk of injury are the elderly who smoke and use HOS. Further statistics indicate that the elderly are twice as likely to die in a home fire than younger people [17].

Another study of burns patients who had been smoking and using home oxygen at the time of their injury collected retrospective epidemiological data on patients treated in 1999–2008 [18]. 17 COPD patients sustained injuries secondary to smoking on HOS over the 9-year period; 11.8% (two out of 17) sustained inhalation injury requiring intubation and 23.5% (four out of 17) required wound debridement and skin grafting. Mean hospital stay was greater (42.8±12.5 versus 10.3±5.4 days) in the intensive care unit and 32.5±11.0 days in the ward. On discharge from hospital, most produced an excessive burden on the local healthcare facilities (47.1% in extended care facilities, 11.8% died during their hospitalisation and there was a 35.3% reduction in patients able to return home and/or live independently). These patients were older, had higher rates of inhalation injury and had much longer lengths of hospitalisation, despite smaller burns injuries than routine burns patients. They concluded that prevention of such injuries would improve the safety of the patient and those around them as well as healthcare resource allocation. This finding that elderly COPD patients who smoke while on oxygen are at greatest risk of death from a home fire is a fact of which many home oxygen services are only too well aware.

There are unique UK data from one oxygen provider (Air Products, Allentown, PA, USA) that show detail of the scale of oxygen fire incidents. Details of the analysis of serious events of adverse nature (SEANs) reports between 2010 and 2012 on investigated SEANs related to fire and smoking events in several regions of the UK are given in table 3. These represent 62 (44%) out of 140 incidents reported at levels 3–5, in which patients sustained injuries requiring medical treatment (level 3) or hospitalisation (level 4) or fatalities (level 5). These regional variations (0.08–0.20%) in the number of fires/patients on oxygen cannot be easily explained despite reasonable standardisation of service delivery. However, the overall average is the first published national average figure (0.12%) for fire/oxygen events in UK home oxygen patients.

To put this in perspective, annually, there are usually about 30  000 house fires in the UK (population 55 million), giving an incidence of 0.06% fires per citizen. This puts the incidence of home fires with oxygen (level 3–5) as twice that of the general population.

Further analysis of the severity of the adverse events (table 4) shows that tobacco smoking was strongly associated with house fires with home oxygen.

Causes of SEANs unrelated to smoking (table 5) are linked to gas cookers, candles and matches, but generally lead to less severe adverse events. Clearly, the addition of oxygen in the home where fires can happen anyway increases the risks of both the development and severity of house fires.

It could be argued that a single oxygen provider may operate different levels of safety when delivering HOS and that these data therefore give a false impression of the overall risks. Table 6 shows data collected over the same period for the three UK HOS providers. There appear to be different levels of reporting of incidents or there are different numbers of incidents occurring across the whole of the UK. Further research is required in these areas. As a part of the UK HOS contract, providers have to report all fire-related incidents with home oxygen to the UK Department of Health. Further analysis of those data should produce clear safety messages and actions to improve prevention.

There are insufficient European data to compare adverse events with home oxygen fires between countries, but comparison with the abundant USA data shows the UK to have about half the death rate due to fires with home oxygen (table 7). One possible explanation for this difference is that in the UK, “fire-breaks” (see later) are mandatory, whereas in the USA they are optional. Of course, there may be other explanations, such as that many US homes are built of wood rather than brick, and there may be different levels of smoke detector usage or policy on issuing home oxygen to smokers. Nevertheless, as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for home oxygen become stricter worldwide and the USA adopts fire-breaks, then it will be interesting to see if the death rates fall in home oxygen users in the USA.

Gaseous oxygen (GOX) is packaged, transported, and used in compressed gas cylinders by many industries throughout the world. This portable, versatile packaging of oxygen is used for breathing gas (medical, aircraft, scuba diving, etc.), combustion (cutting, welding, etc.), and other applications like laboratory-scale experimentation in the power, metal refining and chemical processingindustries.

All compressed gas cylinders should be used with caution due to their high-pressure contents, which can quickly turn a cylinder into a rocket if dropped, shearing off the isolation valve (Google “Myth Busters Air Cylinder Rocket”). For more information about general pressure-related hazards of compressed gas cylinders, there are many useful resources available from trade associations like the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) and regulatory agencies like OSHA. GOX cylinders present a unique hazard, however: the risk of fire. They require special handling and operating practices that differ from any other compressed gas.

“Many people don’t realize that oxygen cylinders require unique safety measures. A welder, for instance, may have two compressed gas cylinders side-by-side, oxygen and acetylene, but each must be handled and operated very differently.”

GOX cylinders are typically fitted with a stand-alone cylinder valve or a valve integrated pressure regulator (VIPR). Stand-alone cylinder valves are designed to be connected to a stand-alone regulator or a manifold and require special handling (as outlined below). VIPRs require less special handling because the cylinder valve and regulator are combined in one device but users must follow manufacturer instructions and particularly avoid contaminating the ports of the VIPR, especially the fill port.

Regardless of application, all oxygen cylinder users should know best practices associated with safe use. At WHA we believe in educating people with the “why” behind the “what,” so users can better understand (and remember) how to safely handle and operate compressed oxygen in cylinders and associated systems.

In a compressed oxygen cylinder, pure oxygen gas is the oxidizer, not the fuel – it is not a flammable gas and will not ignite or burn by itself. Instead, oxygen works to make materials (fuels) more flammable and easier to ignite. It is one of three primary elements required for a fire to occur.

Oxygen makes up almost 21% of our atmosphere, which is not necessarily a high concentration, but sufficient to enable many materials to ignite and burn in the presence of an energy or heat source. Of course, there are also many materials will not easily burn under normal atmospheric conditions.

However, as oxygen pressures and concentrations increase, nearly all materials will ignite and burn more easily than they do in air! Even the stainless steel components of a regulator can ignite and burn with the ample oxidizer provided within a compressed oxygen cylinder.

The basic philosophy behind oxygen safety, therefore, is toreduce risk by limiting potential ignition and/or fuel sources in the given oxygen environment. Common oxygen hazards include:

Contaminants like oils and greases (hydrocarbon-based): These may seem harmless in ambient air, but they become extremely dangerous fuels in the presence of oxygen.

Small particle contaminants: Metal shavings and other small debris can accelerate and ignite upon impact in compressed oxygen, providing both the fuel and the ignition source to start a fire.

Fast pressurization:Certain valve styles (ball valves and cylinder valves, for example) open quickly and can rapidly pressurize systems with compressed oxygen, creating sufficient heat to ignite certain materials and cause a fire.

Finally, the safe use of oxygen also includes concepts such as reducing fire consequenceby minimizing personnel exposure (i.e. standing to the side of a valve while opening) and limiting the kindling chain of potential fuels that could propagate a small ignition into a large fire.

Inspecting and “clearing” or purging the cylinder valve is a critical first step when using any oxygen cylinder to avoid ingesting potential contaminants from the cylinder valve into your regulator or downstream system.

First REMOVE PROTECTIVE CAP just prior to cylinder use. (Always keep the protective cap in place when not in use.) Remove any plastic wrapping and ensure no loose pieces remain in the valve outlet.

Always visually INSPECTthe CGA-540 fitting before assembling any oxygen component to cylinder valve, including regulators, flexible hoses, “pigtail” tubing, or other equipment.(DO NOT use components if contaminated with debris.)

System start-up is one of the most critical steps in using an oxygen cylinder due to the risk of compression heating ignition, which can occur if high-pressure oxygen rapidly pressurizes in compatible downstream components. Chances are that you’ll never experience an oxygen fire, but these good practices reduce the risk.

“One of the most important things we teach about proper handling of oxygen cylinders is related to operation of the cylinder valve. Always remember to open SLOWLY but open FULLY.”

It’s important to note that oxygen cylinder valves have different construction and application from oxygen regulators. Cylinder valves are designed only for “isolation” purposes. As such, they should be operated either completely open or closed. Never partially-open an oxygen valve and leave it to “throttle” or control flow. Although it’s extremely rare, this improper operation can lead to ignition of the plastic valve seat.

To open most oxygen cylinder valve designs, “backseat” the stem on the packing (open all the way), then back ¼-turn. This helps keep the valve from sticking (and possibly appearing to be closed to other users).

To close, don’t overload (over-tighten) the plastic valve seat. This can cause excessive wear and damage the valve seat, limiting durability and, more importantly, creating flammable plastic fibers inside the component. A good “rule of thumb” is to stop applying torque when the valve “feels” closed.

Compressed gas cylinders, including oxygen cylinders, should never be emptied completely. Eliminating a positive pressure inside a cylinder can allow contaminants to enter the cylinder and endanger future users. Most suppliers recommend keeping pressures above 25-100 psig at all times.

For end-users, WHA’s engineers have developed Level 2: O2 Practice, a training course that focuses on oxygen system operations and maintenance, including safe use of oxygen cylinders. This course is conveniently available for clients on-site, via live webinar, or as an interactive e-training module. Best practices are also reinforced in every comprehensive upper-level WHA oxygen safety course.

Pressure regulators reduce the high pressures of the stored gas in the cylinder to lower pressures that can be safely used in an operating system. Proper regulator selection is critical for both safety and effectiveness of operating systems. Regulators are designed to control pressure; they do not measure or control flow, unless equipped with devices such as a flow meter specifically designed for such purposes.

Regulator connections to cylinder valves must be completely free of dirt, dust, oil, and grease. "Crack" the valve slowly (by opening the valve slightly and then reclosing it) before attaching the regulator in order to blow out dust and debris from the opening. Note: Cylinders containing highly toxic gases should not be "cracked".

Regulators are attached to the cylinder, or manifold, at the inlet connection. This connection should be tested for leaks with a non-petroleum based product. Note that many soaps contain petroleum! The connection is marked with a Compressed Gas Association (CGA) number and will be left-hand or right-hand threaded to match the nut or fitting. This prevents a piece of incompatible gas equipment from being connected to the wrong gas supply.

Never use damaged or defective equipment. In fact, it"s best not to use a regulator that you do not know the history of - it may have been misused or repaired by an unauthorized person. Refer any problems or defects to the manufacturer for recommendations and authorized repair.

Opening a Regulator - Stand on the valve side of the cylinder at arms length so you do not have to reach in front of the regulator face. Turn your head away from the regulator and open the valve, turning counter clockwise, to blow out dust and debris, and then reclose the valve.

Changing a Regulator - Close the valve and drain the regulator by backing out the adjusting screw. Disconnect the regulator, making sure not to touch the nut and gland areas. Connect the regulator to the new cylinder.

Closing a Regulator - Turn the valve clockwise to close the valve. Drain the regulator by turning (opening) the adjusting crew to release any gas. Reclose the adjusting screw.

Recommendation: To provide easier access and additional safety, purchase wall-mounted regulators which connect to the supply cylinder by hose. This will reduce the handling of the regulator and reduce the likelihood of damage.

Diaphragm Valve - This valve uses a two piece stem separated by non-perforated diaphragms. These diaphragms prevent leakage along the valve stem. The lower part of the stem is encased in a spring, which forces the stem away from the seat whent eh valve is opened. The upper stem is threaded into the diaphragm retainer nut. When the handwheel is rotated to the closed position, the upper stem pushes on the diaphragms, which deflect downward, forcing the lower stem against the valve seat. Advantages of this type of valve are that they provide superior leak integrity and have no threads or lubricants in the gas stream to generate particles or contaminants. This type of valve is required for mos

Compressed gas cylinders shall have a pressure relief device installed to prevent the rupture of a normally pressurized cylinder when inadvertently exposed to fire of high temperatures. There are four basic types of pressure relief devices:

Rupture Disk Devices - A flat disk typically made of metal that is designed to burst at a predetermined pressure to permit the release of gas. The pressure rating of the disk is typically stamped onto the face of the device. Examples of gases using this type of device include compressed air, argon, helium, nitrogen, and oxygen.

Combination Ruture Disks/Fusible Plug Devices - A rupture disk backed by a fusible plug. In the event of a fire, the fusible metal melts and cylinder overpressure is relieved by the bursting of the disk. The burst pressure of the disk and the melting point of the plug will be marked with the ratings. Medical grade gas cylinders typically have this type of pressure relief device.

Pressure Relief Valves - A spring-loaded valve opens when the cylinder pressure exceeds the pressure setting of the spring to discharge contents. Once the cylinder pressure decreases to the valve"s pressure setting, the valve will normally reseat without leakage.