People in professions where electronic gas detectors are an important part of ensuring a safe environment often use those devices accompanied by pumps. The decision to use a pumped or unpumped monitor can have a serious effect on workplace safety. Using a pump on a gas monitor can boost the safety of tasks that involve the detection of toxic or flammable gases. The use of a pump allows a worker to collect air from the environment and bring it to the gas monitor location, rather than having to enter an unknown and potentially dangerous atmosphere in order to assess it.
The use of a pump can help prevent worker exposure to contaminated air or combustible environments. By using the monitor in a safe place, a worker can determine that it is safe to move forward as the area is free of dangerous fumes. There are some types of spaces where the use of a pump is particularly beneficial to safety, including short, wide spaces and tall, narrow areas. Pump use can be important in confined spaces where it allows workers to proceed slowly with a clearly determined safe path ahead of them.
While pumps do improve worker safety in potentially dangerous areas, they do not boost the effectiveness or sensitivity of a gas monitor. Furthermore, there are some negative aspects of pump usage; they are large and heavy and can weigh down workers who need to use them for workdays that range up to 12 hours in length.
Gas monitoring can be an important workplace safety precaution in many job environments, including water treatment facilities and refineries. Employees who have been injured on the job, including through fires or exposure to toxic gases and chemicals, can seek compensation. A workers compensation lawyer may help injured employees protect their rights.
