Breathing air quality test kits are an important piece of safety equipment in any industry that uses a compressed air. Underwater diving is one of the most common activities that require this equipment in industry. This high hazard occupation spans a wide range of industries, with each requiring a specific set of skills for certain purposes. But one thing is true across each of these roles: Their breathing air needs to be safe. This blog will detail a bit more about the unique underwater diving roles that require breathing apparatus, the importance of testing this equipment and how best to do this.
Where and When does Underwater Diving take place?
The first thought that comes to mind when thinking of Underwater Diving is in its recreational context; Scuba Diving. Scuba diving is one of the most popular industries for using breathing apparatus. Scuba divers will either undertake this task individually if they are qualified or turn it into a service in areas with a rich undersea environment.
Underwater diving can also be commonplace in specialised maintenance and construction roles in the Oil and Gas, Construction, Marine and Energy sectors. These jobs are generally known as Commercial Divers. Workers in these roles are not only highly skilled at diving but are also required to use specialised tools for underwater welding, cutting and installation. Commercial divers will be a key part of the construction and maintenance of Ships, Bridges, Wind turbines etc. Commercial divers will also be required to perform regular inspections for these structures.
Commercial divers can also be commonly found in the Science, Archaeological, Environmental and Hazardous Waste industries. However, these divers will be performing different types of tasks. In the science sector, Commercial divers may be used for sampling and monitoring ocean environments to help with research. And in the Environmental and Hazardous waste Sectors, Commercial Divers will often be required to undertake cleaning and salvaging tasks, such as after an Oil spill, a Ship sinking etc.
All these sectors require breathing apparatus as it is an essential piece of equipment for these teams to perform their daily tasks. These industries experience a large turnover of gas bottles and frequent use of their Breathing equipment. Therefore, regular testing and closely monitoring the quality of the equipment is absolutely necessary.
Why do they need to test their breathing air supply?
Even if the compressed air cylinder is used straight from the factory, there is no guarantee that the air is safe to breathe.
There are many different ways in which a compressed air cylinder can become contaminated, such as during the filling process, during transportation or whilst in storage. The most common contaminants of this equipment include Oil, CO2, CO, Water Vapour, O2 and Nitrous fumes. All of these materials can cause a wide range of health issues if inhaled, such as Asphyxiation, Respiratory issues, poisoning and many more.
To find out more about why you should test your breathing air supply, check out our blog. Here we detail the different ways in which your compressed air can become contaminated as well as the dangers of these contaminants.
How do you Test your Breathing Air Supply?
Breathing apparatus is tested using a breathing air quality test kit. These contain detection tubes of each of the most common contaminants to help identify any potential issues with your breathing air.
Easy Gas Tubes can provide the Kwikdraw breathing air quality test kit to help Underwater diving teams to keep their equipment safe to use. The Kwikdraw kit comes in 3 different options with all of the required detection tubes available, compatibility for medium and high-pressure air supplies and an additional tube pump for external testing if required.
The Kwikdraw breathing air quality test kit is also faster, lighter and lower cost than market alternatives, with the shortest flushing time and an automatic on/off valve to save on wasted compressed air. This saves on the long terms cost of ownership, as compressed air bottles do not have to be replaced as frequently. This kit contains everything you need to complete your testing in a compact and lightweight format.
Are we near you?
Easy gas tubes have distributors located across Europe, so we are never too far away from assisting you with your tubular needs. We are also looking for new partners! So if you are interested in becoming an Easy Gas Tubes distributor, contact us.
