Personal gas monitors have now required pieces of equipment for many mining sites worldwide.
This is because they have the ability to detect four main atmospheric gases; oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane. All of these gases can be harmful or lead to flammable conditions if they are present in high enough concentrations.
Oxygen is the most important gas for workers to be aware of, as it is essential for human life. Low oxygen levels can cause dizziness, nausea, and ultimately death. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can cause headaches, dizziness, and vomiting at low concentrations. At high concentrations, it can cause loss of consciousness and death.
Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that smells like rotten eggs. It is toxic even at low concentrations and can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, loss of consciousness, and death. Methane is a flammable gas that can cause asphyxiation at high concentrations.
It is also explosive in specific concentrations.
Personal gas monitors are able to continuously monitor the atmosphere for these gases and will set off an alarm if any of them reach unsafe levels. This allows workers to leave the area before they are affected. It is important to remember that these devices only work if they are properly calibrated and used correctly.
Certain personal gas monitors can come with extra features for detecting components like cyanide, freons, propane, or other specific gases that might be found in certain workplaces. If you work in a specialty mining site with unique equipment or a hazardous environment, upgrading personal monitors may be a requirement to protect your staff to the fullest.
A portable gas detector is handy for testing an area shortly after entering it or before entering a site with equipment. By testing the air with a personal gas monitor, you can be sure that it is safe to stay in that area and work. Most models will have an audible alarm as well as a visual display so that even if workers are not near the device, they will still be alerted to the presence of dangerous gases.
Contact us today if you need to know more about personal gas monitors for your mining site.
This post was written by Justin Tidd, Director at Becker Mining Communications! For over 15 years, Becker Communications has been the industry’s leader in Gas Monitoring System and electrical mining communication systems. As they expanded into surface mining, railroads, and tunneling they added wireless communication systems, handheld radios, tagging and tracking systems, as well as gas monitoring.