“Dust Off” and USCG required “Sound Devices” cans of compressed gas – Hazardous?

So there you have it, the latest incident with a can of “compressed air”; but wait, most of these cans do NOT contain compressed air – hence the problem/hazard.  I was unable to find an accurate number of incidents that happen each year with these “dusters”,  but it makes the news at least 3-4 times a year.  In WA there was a workplace incident in an office and WA-OSHA (LNI) issued a Safety Alert on the hazard.  And just an FYI for those of you who use the “air horn cans” in your Emergency Alarm systems, know these are also NOT compressed air!

Most adults have used these cans of compressed gas to clean their electronics a time or two, but how many actually read the warning label regarding its use and know about its FLAMMABILITY?  Most of these “dusters” use 1,1–Difluoroethane and NOT compressed air as many think.  1,1–Difluoroethane is a Category 2 Flammable Aersol and when exposed to an ignition source will ignite making what only can be described as a flame-thrower (see video below).  In fact, the safety label on the cans specifically PROHIBIT the use around…. yep – shredders!  The brand that I use has a safety video we can watch: