How to detect toxic gases

If you ask us what are the biggest risks of a work accident, we would surely answer that it is the fall of objects or fire. What if we tell you that one of the biggest occupational risks is exposure to toxic gases and vapors ? Since this is precisely one of the most important hazards in the industry sector, something really necessary is to know how we can find leaks or leaks of gas and know what type they are to act on accordingly, thus avoiding major problems.

We must inform ourselves very well about this risk, since exposing ourselves to dangerous gases can have serious consequences for our health and even produce death. If you want to know more details, continue reading this article and discover how to detect toxic gases .

The importance of detecting toxic gases and vapors

Gases are that hidden and invisible enemy, since they can cause great losses, especially against the lives of people, and most of the time it is difficult to detect . This is because on numerous occasions, when we are living closely a leak, we can not see the gas with the naked eye and even, sometimes, we can not even smell it.

Early detection of leakage of toxic gases or vapors is very important, since in this way large explosions can be avoided as well as the loss of people's lives due to their inhalation. Therefore, it is necessary to know the different risks of the types of gases that exist and the gas detectors that are necessary to keep any company or industry out of risk.

Hazards of gases

Before knowing how to detect toxic gases, we must see what are the risks to which we expose ourselves in case of leakage or gas leakage. Thus, any type of gas in large quantities can be dangerous for humans, but there are several types of gases of which we must have identified their origin in order to tackle the problem more easily.

If we talk about the types of gases and their detection, we could categorize the dangerousness of gases in three types:

  • Risk Ox: when the alarm is given by this type of risk, it means that there is a risk of suffocation due to lack of oxygen, since this has been displaced by a gas.
  • Ex risk: this type of risk is one of the most dangerous and destructive, since an alarm of this type warns us of the risk of flammable gas explosions.
  • Tox risk: finally, this type of risk is also very important to know because this alarm must be taken with special care. This is because there is possible poisoning by toxic gases.

How can we avoid these types of risks? Simply with the help of gas detectors, capable of identifying an escape long before a human being.

Types of gas detectors

The best way to know how to detect toxic gases is simply using special detectors for this purpose, since they are much more reliable and effective than ourselves to achieve this goal. Thus, the different types of gas detectors or sensors that exist in the industry sector can be divided mainly into two large groups:

Fixed detection

This type of gas detectors are usually used in all types of industrial buildings, as well as in public buildings and some neighborhood communities in order to ensure the safety of workers. Fixed gas detectors are located on ceilings and walls in order to detect and warn against a possible escape or leakage of vapors or toxic gases. Like any type of detector, its purpose is to warn and give alarm to a possible gas, so that we can act in time to avoid major damage.

Portable detection

Portable gas detectors are fundamental in the industry, especially in construction and mining. Portable detectors allow those in charge of security and stability, for example in the construction of tunnels, to detect if they are working on a gas path or if an unexpected leak arises at any time.

The detection and extinction of a fire, is something that everyone in our homes can do if we have, for example, a nearby fire extinguisher and we know how to use it. But, on the other hand, detecting and extinguishing a gas leak of any kind is something that we can only do by means of the appropriate gas detectors.