The silent killer

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Svein Sivertsen, general manager, Simtronics. The company provides a range of gas detection devices.

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Gas detection devices are critical in areas where hazardous gases are involved.

In the dark sooty depths of the UK's old coal mines, where thousands of working class men were plunged daily to extract the solid hydrocarbon fuel from beneath the surface of the green rolling hills above, the risk to those workers lives on a daily basis was very real.

Black damp, after damp, fire damp, stink damp and white damp: these were not the state of one's clothing, but a way of describing different types of hazardous gas build up, which could without warning lead to the death of the miners.

The UK was famous for adopting the ‘miner's canaries' detection system - not one for modern day animal rights activists. Essentially, it required having a caged canary near to where the miners were working, continuously chirping happily away. In the unfortunate event of a hazardous gas leak, the bird would sing its last song and ultimately perish, and in doing so warn the workers of the danger at hand.

Gladly, modern day technology has saved the lives of numerous workers and little canaries around the world. Move forward into the 21st Century and we find a raft of gas detection devices which adopt the latest detection sensing equipment to ensure those working where deadly gas may be present are always safe.

"We supply the industry with both gas detectors and flame detectors. Within gas detection you have different types of gas, such as toxic gases like H2S [hydrogen sulphide] and benzene, and combustible gases like natural gas, oxygen and methane," explains Svein Roar Sivertsen, general manger for the Middle East, Simtronics.

The Norwegian company Simtronics specialises in fixed gas and flame detection systems to primarily the oil, gas and petrochemical industries. Their range of technologies include the latest laser detectors capable of picking up H2S levels in the surrounding air, as well as ultrasonic detectors which can pick up on gas leaks not audible to the human ear.

"Our systems are incredibly robust and reliable, as they have been developed and designed for use in the North Sea market. The importance of having a reliable and accurate detector cannot be over stated. Say for example you have a leak of H2S; you won't be able to smell it or see it, and you can die if you are over exposed to it," warns Sivertsen.

"The sensitivity achieved makes GD1 suitable for personnel safety purposes, covering the new long term exposure recommendations. The GD1 laser open path gas detector has been designed with features that provide an effective response to the detection of gas hazards in a wide range of industrial environments from offshore production facilities to wastewater treatment plants," a company statement reads.

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