How Dangerous is Oxy Acetylene

Oxy-acetylene is quite dangerous to use in your factories or workshops. There is no denying the fact that there are many risks of fire and explosion hazards from using oxygen fuel and acetylene for cutting and welding. Oxy acetylene flame can cause accidents and various other types of hazards, which must be avoided using strict safety and precautionary measures. As it is well-known that acetylene is highly flammable, there is a cause of concern for its instability and propensity to pollute by giving off toxic fumes.

Needless to say, transporting the gas through gas cylinders is convenient but there are following risks:

• Explosion of gas cylinder  or rapid release of compressed gas
• Shock from parts of gas cylinders or valves that fail, or any flying debris
• Manual handling injuries

Using naked oxy acetylene flame in a factory or a work space spikes up chances of fires, it is imperative Plastics, wiring and trim around the part to be removed can catch fire, causing potentially costly damage. Naked flames and traditional tools cannot access hard-to-reach corroded nuts and other parts. But there are precautions that one must take to ensure protection against the dangers of using the highly flammable gas.

Every year there are several accidents in which a flashback into an acetylene cylinder triggers decomposition making the cylinder risky and unstable? It is observed that it is very rare to see a cylinder explode after three minutes of a flashback. When the decomposition in the cylinder is identified at an early stage, there is time for evacuation of the building and calling fire brigade. However, there is a way to use acetylene cylinders in a safe way. The cylinder used for storing acetylene has got a different design from the cylinders for storing other gases. It is made up of a steel shell containing a porous mass, which is a cellular structure filling the cylinder completely.