Occupational Burns from Oxygen Resuscitator Fires: The Hazard of Aluminum Regulators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hodous, Thomas K. ; Newton B ; Washenitz, Frank C. II
• Description:
  There have been over 30 incidents of oxygen resuscitator fires over the last 6 years, causing severe burns to a number of fire fighters, emergency medical service personnel, health care workers, and patients. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was requested to investigate three such incidents. NIOSH conducted site investigations of the incidents, and the requesters also sent the involved oxygen resuscitators to a forensic engineering company for a causal analysis. The investigated fires were associated with aluminum regulators, all from one manufacturer, on compressed pure oxygen cylinders. The investigations indicated that the cause of the fires was an initial small ignition in the high-pressure area of the aluminum regulator, which then consumed itself in a massive burnout. Aluminum regulators used with high-pressure oxygen systems are subject to rare, but potentially catastrophic combustion in normal use. Replacement of such regulators with those made of more fire-resistant materials or designs, as well as education and improved safety practices are needed to reduce this hazard. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Aluminum Flammability Author Keywords: Aluminum Regulators Compressed-air-breathing-apparatus Compressed-gases Compressed Oxygen Emergency-responders Fire-fighters Fire-fighting-equipment Fire-hazards Flammable-gases Health-care-personnel Humans Hyperbaric-environments Hyperbaric Oxygen Medical-equipment Oxygen Respiratory-equipment Resuscitator Fires

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New Mexico ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 6 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  63-69
• Volume:
  42
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20022508
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2002 Jul; 42(1):63-69
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas K. Hodous, Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, USA
• Email:
  thh1@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2002
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:483e951a743278adf7295fa27721a69c4bb922333b17429ec621be673b21d42d45ebf1a1c87fc6465ca715a6b3befbe3df416c1026f1ec296d428e45b316fda2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/199258/cdc_199258_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 377.72 KB ]