Proper Handling, Use Keep Danger at Bay

"Ever see a gas cylinder when it gets the valve knocked off?" Seth Adams said. Adams is shipping manager for Advanced Architectural Metals and a veteran in the iron work field who spends eight hours a day working with and around compressed gas. "It’s a torpedo. It’ll go through a wall, or even through a building. It’ll just keep going until it runs out of gas."

Adams and AA Metals shop foreman Ian Macklin recently attended a seminar on compressed gas safety for members of Nevada Contractors Insurance.

Compressed gas cylinders hold oxygen, acetylene and other gasses used in welding and cutting. Tanks are usually metal and one-half to three-quarters of an inch thick to hold the tremendous pressure exerted by the gas. This makes the chances of an tank exploding less likely than the tank turning into, like Adams said, a torpedo ready to take out anything or anyone in it’s path. Yet keeping such dangerous items safe isn’t that difficult, as long as safety rules are adhered to.

"A lot of this is common sense," Josh Schultz said. "But you wouldn’t believe what we see in the field." Schultz is a safety and loss control consultant for Risk Services-Nevada, and he recently developed and presented the three-hour seminar.

The course covered handling and storage of compressed gas cylinders, welding and torching requirements, permit requirements, OSHA regulations, compliance with OSHA regs, and personal protective equipment. There was also a short video on the health risks associated with exposure to the gasses themselves.

When moving or storing cylinders, regulations wisely put an emphasis on protecting the valve. Valve caps are necessary whenever moving a cylinder unless they are firmly secured on a special cart intended for that purpose. There are regs in place forbidding cylinders from being intentionally struck, dropped or moved in a horizontal position. Valve protection caps are mandatory except when in use. Bars cannot be used to pry cylinders apart.

Storing compressed gas cylinders requires that oxygen cylinders must be kept clear of gas or oil or fuel gases such as acetylene. They must be at least 20 feet apart or separated by a non-combustible barrier at least five feet high.

Schultz said that is one of the most common hazards he sees in the field. "We see this all the time," he said. "Oxygen and acetylene side by side. They need to be kept apart."