Reasons why gas detectors need to determine the range
Are you unknowingly exposed to harmful fumes? Even when using personal protective equipment? Safety professionals consider many factors when recommending respiratory protection for workers in environments where toxic gas hazards may be present.
But an overlooked factor is the measurement range of the toxic and harmful gas detector used. Why is it so important? So why do gas detectors need to be ranged?
NIOSH recommends different levels of personal protective equipment (PPE) based on potential exposure (parts per million), let's use ammonia (NH3) as an example, although the same principles apply to all toxic gas hazards.
For example, in the Midwest of the United States, food production is a big business. In addition to food production, there are also refrigeration facilities that use NH3 as a refrigerant. In Wisconsin and Michigan alone, companies use about 150 million pounds of ammonia for refrigeration every year, which means With thousands of workers potentially exposed to ammonia, with this in mind, workers use gas detectors and NIOSH guidelines to determine how to properly protect themselves.
If exposure potential is as high as 250 ppm NH3, NIOSH recommends the use of a half-mask respirator with a cartridge that protects against NH3 or any supplied air respirator.
If exposure potential is as high as 300 ppm NH3, NIOSH recommends the use of a constant-flow air respirator or any powered purifying respirator with a cartridge that protects against NH3, a full-face filter, or a full-face mask.
If the exposure potential is greater than 300ppm, NIOSH recommends the use of a safe closed-air breathing apparatus (SCBA) or full-face supplied-air respirator. To accurately determine exposure, your gas detector must be able to detect levels according to NIOSH's PPE guidelines.
In this example, your gas detector must be able to detect NH3 at a concentration greater than 300ppm, but many gas detectors can only measure NH3 from 0-100ppm, which is a problem if there is no device that can measure more than 300ppm ( or NIOSH recommendations for specific toxic gases), how do your workers know if their PPE is providing adequate protection?
To avoid this problem, it is important to check the measuring range of your gas detector, especially if your environment may contain ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), sulfur dioxide (SO2) or carbon monoxide (CO).
In this case, a gas detector with a measurement range greater than 300ppm can help your workers determine whether they need to switch to an SCBA when working in that environment. If your gas detector cannot detect NH3 up to 300ppm, workers should Wear SCBA at all times to ensure levels exceed the permissible exposure limit of 50ppm NH3.
In addition to providing critical safety readings, devices with higher sensing ranges generally last longer and save the cost of sensor replacement, displays like the Ventis Pro5 typically have a higher measurement range, making them less susceptible to damage from overrange and reduces the need for sensor replacement.
