Precautions needed with compressed air
Charles A. Warren, Jr.
Warren Engineering Reports
West Granby, Connecticut
Reference is made to What We Learned (“Near Tragedy Underscores Need for Safety When Training,” by M. “Mick” Mastrino, August 1998). His approach is to be applauded–to learn from our mistakes without pointing fingers and, in his words, “not to discredit anyone.”
There is one additional lesson to be learned. Do not use air (or any other compressible gas) to pressurize anything that was not designed for use with a compressed gas. The stored energy can be lethal if a failure occurs, even at a low pressure. Pressurization with an incompressible liquid (water) is much safer because of the stored energy. That is the reason we test pressure vessels with water, not air. There was a fatality in our local area a number of years ago when an air test failed.
As a professional engineer and firefighter for more than 30 years with experience in fire protection, fire prevention, and EMS, I feel very strongly that very stringent precautions must be taken with compressed air (or other gases) in any application, at any pressure. In some cases, safety may require that we avoid using the compressed air.
