Photo from the September 9, 2010, San Bruno, California, natural gas pipeline explosion. Eight people died in the blast. (Photo found on Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Brocken Inaglory.)
由Daniel P. Sheridan
当我们进入即将到来的冬天,那里will be many stories of gas leaks and carbon monoxide (CO) emergencies filling the pages of our daily newspapers and on our smart phones. The fire service will be dealing with the aftermath of incidents such as house explosions and CO illnesses.
CO is measured in PPM in any given atmosphere. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations deem that any exposure over 35 PPM in any eight-hour period is considered mild. CO is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. The only way to measure its presence is with a meter or, unfortunately, when people start exhibiting symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, and nausea. As a young firefighter, I had been exposed numerous to CO numerous times. It is a horrible feeling; usually after a decent exposure, I would need a few days to recover. The greatest, most obvious symptom is a splitting headache.
现在市场上有产品，可以帮助第一名响应者避免响应潜在的危险情况。这些气体传感器/ CO系统可向公众商购获得。气体传感器可以检测液化石油气体或天然气等气体泄漏，并警告您家内的危险堆积。这些气体传感器还可以将无线信号发送到安装在屋内的小截止阀，从而将气体关闭到电器。这让您提醒您并开始缓解问题，然后才能达到较低的爆炸极限（LEL），使其对第一个受访者更安全。
These gas systems adhere to European standard EN 50294, which doesn’t exist in the U.S. The CO system adheres to EN 50291, which detects the CO danger at a lower concentration of 30 parts per million (PPM) and will shut down CO producing appliances within two hours. It may be worthwhile for chiefs to advocate for this system to be put into code in their districts.
今天的许多人都温和地暴露于天然气，他们甚至没有意识到它。平均CO报警遵循UL 2034标准，这使您可以在听起来前一个月暴露在高达70ppm。
Just in the last two months, the following three stories happened here in the U.S.:
来自www.pcnr.com：
In Putnam County, New York, a house explosion injures a young pregnant mother
9/3/14—A home on Route 301, just past Glynwood Farm, is nothing but charred remains after a fire early Sunday. As of 10 a.m., there were still wisps of smoke coming off the fireplace, the only portion of the house that was still, barely, standing. The garage had collapsed on top of a car as a result of the flames.
Read moreHERE
来自www.nj.com：
One confirmed dead in East Brunswick, New Jersey, house explosion
过夜家庭爆炸后9 / 17/14小时witnesses sayrocked an East Brunswick neighborhood, the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office has confirmed that emergency teams discovered a body at the scene.
Investigators recovered the body during a search of the house at 4 Agate Road Wednesday afternoon. The man’s name is being withheld pending confirmation of his identity with his next of kin, said officials.
阅读更多并查看照片HERE
来自www.wcpo.com：
在辛辛那提，俄亥俄州，一位母亲，女儿被从一氧化碳中毒中拯救出来
10 / 6/14 - 随着三国的天气在周末达到冰冻温度附近的天气，辛辛那提船员回应了他们第一次涉及一氧化碳（CO）的家庭紧急情况。
A woman coming home to her apartment complex in the 2000 block of Stratford Avenue said she heard her downstairs neighbor calling out for help.
Read more and watch videoHERE
Although gas is safe and clean, it still remains a volatile substance. Natural gas is lighter than air. Depending on the exact composition, it has a vapor density of 0.59 to 0.72, a LEL of 3.9 percent to 4.5 percent, and an upper explosive limit (UEL) of 14.5 percent to 15 percent. Its ignition temperature is 483°C to 632°C (900°F to 1,170°F). That means that if you have a leak in an appliance and the gas fills the space to these explosive levels, the results are catastrophic.
The same holds true for propane, which is heavier than air. It has a vapor density of approximately 1.5 to 2.0, a lower explosive limit (LEL) of 2.15 percent, and an upper explosive limit (UEL) of 9.6 percent. Its ignition temperature is 493°C to 604°C (920°F to 1,120°F). When the propane or the natural gas comes in contact with any type of ignition source, you will have a devastating explosion. The ignition source can be anything from a pilot light to a static charge.
As the weather gets colder, it will be more difficult for gases to migrate upward into the atmosphere and dissipate. For example, USA Today on January 16, 2014, printed, “As the use of natural gas booms in the United States, scientists are testing for pipeline leaks. They found more than 5,800 leaks under the streets of Washington, D.C., some potentially explosive.”
马萨诸塞州的州认为足够的问题，规定了法律一项要求燃气公司解决局势并修复泄漏的条例草案。
The followingpress release于2014年7月7日发布，on tathatgaswatch.org：
波士顿，质量。，2014年7月6日– Mark McDonald has waited for this day for a long time. As the President of the New England Gas Workers Association, he wrote legislation in 2010 that would reduce the risk of natural gas pipeline explosions in Massachusetts by forcing natural gas companies to improve the state’s response and repair of gas leaks on their aging pipeline infrastructure. Finally, after years of lobbying marked by thousands of reported gas leaks and dozens of explosions statewide, McDonald’s bill is hours away from being signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick tomorrow, July 7th at 11:15 AM at Springfield City Hall, 36 Court Street, Springfield.
To draw attention to the scope of the problem and urge Governor Patrick to sign the bill into law, McDonald and victims of former Massachusetts gas explosions have unveiled the first-ever gas leak map showing the precise location of more than 300 gas leaks in the city of Medford, Mass as of 2010. The coalition will reveal a new map featuring a new city or town each month, showing how many hundred, in some cases thousands, of gas leaks that exist in each city. The map will show the precise locations of some leaks that were identified as early as 1984 and haven’t been fixed since. “We’re releasing this map, city-by-city, because we want residents to know how widespread the problem is,” said McDonald.
According to NFPA 921 section 9.9.7.1 & 2:
9.9.7.1.1It is common for fuel gases that have leaked from underground piping systems to migrate underground (some- times for great distances), enter structures, and create flam- mable atmospheres. Both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air fuel gases can migrate through soil; follow the exterior of underground lines; and seep into sewer lines, underground electrical or telephone conduits, drain tiles, or even directly through basement and foundation walls, none of which are as gastight as water or gas lines.
9.9.7.1.2Such gases also tend to migrate upward, permeating the soil and dissipating harmlessly into the atmosphere. Whether the path of migration is lateral or upward is largely a matter of which path provides the least resistance to the travel of the fugitive gas, the depth at which the leak exists, the depth of any lateral buried lines that the gas might follow, and the nature of the surface of the ground. If the surface of the ground is obstructed by rain, snow, frozen earth, or paving, the gases may be forced to travel laterally. It is not uncommon for a long-existing leak to have been dissipating harmlessly into the air until the surface of the ground changes, such as by the installation of new paving or by heavy rains or freezing, and then be forced to migrate laterally and enter a structure, fueling a fire or explosion.
我已经回答了许多次来协助我们当地公用事业公司进入地下室的房屋的基础，这些房屋是街道上的煤气泄漏的影响。许多人我们发现最接近泄漏的房屋，水平高达2％。问题通常在睡眠时间里最大。危险是当气体在地下室积聚时，人们就不知道了这种情况。可能存在的另一种可能是如果气味（巯基）被洗掉，则现在我们有一种无味和无色的气体进入我们的住所。
根据NFPA 921第9.9.7.2节A＆B
（a）由于土壤中的气体迁移而导致的气味失去。气体的气味可以被干燥,clay-type土壤s, and not by sand, loams, or heavily organic soils. Certain odorant components are better than others in terms of their ability to resist adsorption by clay-type soils. A large leak gives a lower contact time with the clay-type soil, and results in lower losses due to adsorption.
(B) Loss of Odorant Due to Adsorption of Odorant on Pipe Walls.所有气味组分都被管壁吸附在一定程度上。新管道（钢或塑料）尤其如此。许多天然气公司将新部分的气体对待较重的含量含量的气味后。如果气体流量低于正常，则气味剂可以吸附在一直处于连续服务的气体管中。这是许多天然气公司在冬季和夏季使用水平之间过渡的典型条件。系统中的压力降低，这增加了气体流速，容易解决这个问题。受到低流速的气体系统的任何部分由于吸附而受到气味的损失增加。
一氧化碳安全标准和曝光限制
When you respond to these types of emergencies, it iscriticalthat you have in your possession a meter that measures the levels of gas in the atmosphere.
For more regarding the dangers of CO, October is Fire Prevention Month. Generally, local fire departments will encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke and CO alarms when the clocks turn back.
With the approaching heating season, we will now be hearing more about CO emergencies. CO is a result of incomplete combustion. When you turn on your heating appliances, the burner should have sufficient oxygen to produce carbon dioxide; this will appear as a blue flame. When the heating unit is clogged or dirty or not receiving enough oxygen to sustain a clean burn, a yellowish flame will be produced and CO willl result. If there is a blockage in a flue pipe or chimney, a crack or any other situation that would not allow the gases to vent out into the atmosphere willl create a buildup of CO.
在响应任何类型的紧急情况时，第一响应者 - 特别是紧急医疗服务（EMS）船员在其拥有的CO米中非常重要。它至关重要的是，当接收到可能的CO曝光时，这些仪表与EMS人员有关。
Daniel P. Sheridan是纽约消防局的营队长。
