Confined Space Gas Monitors- Some basic facts

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What is a confined space gas monitor?
A confined space gas monitor is an instrument that allows people to enter and work safely in confined spaces. These confined spaces are commonly found in the process industries. For example a worker who enters an empty petroleum storage tank, is entering a confined space. These confined spaces may have several hazards and a confined space gas monitor helps in reducing these hazards.

Why use one?
For starters, using a confined space gas monitor is absolutely essential to save lives of people who work in such confined spaces. Also by law it is compulsory to use certain protective equipment while working in confined spaces and one of these equipment is a gas monitor.

What does a confined space gas monitor have?
A confined space gas monitor, is any portable kind of gas monitor that can sense at least two gases- Oxygen and Explosive gas. More the gases detected, obviously the better. Also if the confined space is normally used to store or process toxic gases (like Chlorine) then this gas monitor must also include the toxic gas sensor (in this example it would be a Chlorine sensor).
There is an excellent article on basics of toxic gas detectors that you can read here).
Thus a typical 4 gas detector that has one of the sensors as oxygen, can be used as a confined space gas monitor.
The monitor must in addition be lightweight, shock and fall proof, explosion protected (if used in a hazardous area), be small enough to be carried by a worker in his pocket or on a belt clip and have an easily visible display and a loud enough hooter/buzzer.
Some newer ones may also feature a wireless communication to the control room that transmits the readings continuously as well as alarms the control room operators in case of high/low levels of the gases detected.

Calibration
The monitor must be capable of being calibrated easily with calibration gases on site. Further the plant engineer should ensure that at least bump tests of these instruments are regularly done, if not full cycle calibrations, to ensure that these instruments continue to work as desired.

That's all!
For a detailed training course on confined spaces, have a look at the course below

Total Refinery gas leak incident highlights importance of personal gas monitors

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In the recent H2S gas leak at the Total refinery in Texas, contract workers were not wearing personal toxic gas monitors. There could easily have been fatalities in the incident, were it not for the alertness of some of the contract workers, who recognized the smell of Hydrogen Sulfide ( a highly toxic gas that smells somewhat like rotten eggs) and evacuated their workplaces, on their own, say news reports (Beaumont).
One of the workers was reportedly up 50 feet in the air working on a scaffolding, when he could smell the gas and clambered down, holding his breath. Apparently he was not provided any personal H2S gas monitors. Modern pocket sized gas monitors help protect workers in case of such gas leaks in the surroundings. These are available for H2S as well as for other commonly found (in industry) toxic gases like Chlorine. Even low levels of the gas trigger audio visual alarms that alert the worker to evacuate to safety. In this respect H2S gas is more dangerous because as the concentration of the gas increases, the human nose becomes desensitized and stops smelling the gas. The person usually thinks that danger has receded, when in fact it has increased. This can be easily detected by the gas monitor.
It is surprising that even large multinational companies that operate in North America (not in some forgotten third world country) can be so less equipped with these not too expensive detectors.
Investigations are still continuing into the incident. Watch this space for more information.