Oxygen Monitors Guide

The quality of breathable air is one aspect of day-to-day living that most of us take for granted. After all, air is one of the few remaining human needs that we can acquire easily at no cost at all. It is all around us and there’s no need to worry about it, right? Wrong.

There are certain situations where the quality of the air we breathe becomes a critical factor and even a matter of life and death.

Under normal atmospheric conditions (defined to be so at sea level), the air that we inhale into our lungs contain about 20.9% oxygen. Apparently, that oxygen concentration is a crucial number because a reduction of about 1.4% to 19.5% will already have performance and health implications. Drop it down to 16% and may already experience oxygen deficiency symptoms like the inability to do any strenuous tasks and deterioration in physical coordination. At 10 to 12%, the lips turn blue and judgment is impaired. Unconsciousness and, eventually, death occur below 10% oxygen.

An oxygen monitor is a device that detects oxygen in the air and determines whether or not its levels are still adequate to sustain life. When it detects any abnormality, it will sound of an alarm to alert people in the immediate vicinity.

Situations and Places Where Oxygen Monitors are Needed

Exposure to the risk of oxygen deficiency is usually associated with worker conditions in the industrial setting. It is a hazard common to industries related to chemical processing or refinery.

The danger is actually associated with other toxic gases that are released in the air, pushing out the life-giving oxygen. A common example is nitrogen which is gas that can rapidly expand from an evaporating liquid nitrogen spill (which is a common cryogenic agent).

It is also a hazard that is common in confined spaces that are usually features of industrial work areas and plants. Examples of these areas are storage tanks, pipelines, sewer systems, boilers, vats, vaults , etc. If it is a room or an enclosure that has limited natural ventilation, it can be considered an oxygen deficiency hazard.

Unfortunately, this danger is not limited to the industrial setting as it can also be a concern in the hospital and home setting. There are areas in hospitals that require oxygen monitoring like the CT scanning or MRI chambers where the risk of hypoxia becomes a concern due to the confined nature of the chambers. It may also be an essential factor in rooms occupied by patients that are in very critical condition.

Oxygen monitoring is also advisable for homes that have garages or are equipped with natural gas pipelines for their energy supply. Using oxygen monitors concurrently with other toxic gas alarms and detectors is advisable. The most popular ones are carbon monoxide and propane or natural gas detectors.

Portable oxygen monitors are also used by mountain climbers, SCUBA divers and other extreme activities that may entail oxygen deficiency hazards.

Types of Oxygen Monitors

There are two basic classes: The fixed and the portable types— the former being devices that are permanently installed in locations where risks are relatively higher; the latter are ones that are more compact and light and which you can carry around with you while moving around. Determining which types of monitors you need can be aided by existing regulations on worker safety but a redundant system of having fixed oxygen monitors and issuing portable personal oxygen monitor devices to workers or personnel is ideal.