Gas Cylinders at Work and What This Course Covers

Compressed gas cylinders are found in almost every workplace. A workshop uses oxygen and acetylene for cutting. A welder uses argon as a shielding gas. A laboratory uses nitrogen, helium and hydrogen for instruments. A drilling rig or a process plant uses nitrogen for purging and breathing air for emergency sets. A kitchen or a forklift truck may run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

A compressed gas cylinder is a transportable pressure container that holds gas at a pressure far above the air around us. Cylinders look simple and strong, and people see them every day. This is the reason they are often handled with too little care.

Every cylinder carries two kinds of danger at the same time:

• The pressure. The gas is squeezed into a small space. If it escapes suddenly, the stored energy can throw the cylinder, or parts of it, with great force.
• The gas itself. Depending on the gas, the contents can burn, feed a fire, poison, attack skin and metal, freeze tissue, or simply push away the air a person needs to breathe.

Topics taught in other courses

Some neighbouring subjects are only touched here because other courses teach them fully:

• Welding and cutting technique and hot-work controls: the course OSHA Welding, Cutting and Brazing Safety and the course Hot Work Safety.
• Chemical hazard classification and the safety data sheet in depth: the course Hazardous Substances and COSHH.
• Gas detectors and alarms: the course Gas Detection and Alarm Response.
• Entry into confined spaces: the course Confined Space Entry.
• Permits: the course Permit to Work Essentials.
• Breathing apparatus and respirators: the course Respiratory Protection Programmes.