There are two (2) types of Asphyxiants:
- Simple
- Chemical also known as Systemic
These different types of asphyxiants behave differently and cause harm differently.
SIMPLE Asphyxiants displace the 20.8% Oxygen in the atmosphere. These are NOT toxic or poisonous; they are called INERT gases. The most famous SIMPLE Asphyxiant is Nitrogen (N2). It is notoriously renowned as it has killed many workers inside and outside of confined spaces. Since 2020, there have been 14 fatal accidents involving N2 that claimed 26 lives. The most recent claimed Six (6) workers.
I have written several articles referencing code requirements when asphyxiants are used in the workplace. Most states (all but six) have adopted some version of the International Fire Code (IFC), which is an excellent baseline for designing systems handling these inert gases and the atmospheric monitoring systems REQUIRED in areas where these asphyxiants are stored, managed, and processed.
Creating a HAZ ATM takes very little of these gases (e.g., Oxygen-Deficient). Most of these simple asphyxiants have NO WARNING properties, meaning we can not smell, taste, hear, or feel their presence. A room/space at 20.8% O2 must only lose 1.3% of its O2 before we have an IDLH atmosphere. Without proper mechanical exhaust ventilation and/or an atmospheric monitoring system, workers can be overcome quickly.
NOTE: another simple asphyxiant gaining popularity without proper safeguards is Carbon Dioxide (CO2). We are seeing Liquid Dewars of CO2 being used in the restaurant industry for soft drink machines and as a refrigerant in industrial refrigeration systems.
CHEMICAL/SYSTEMIC Asphyxiants work their harm differently. The atmosphere could have adequate Oxygen levels, but once we inhale these chemical/systemic asphyxiants, the hemoglobin in our blood has an affinity for these gases over that of the Oxygen. So these gases attach to our red blood cells/hemoglobin rather than the O2, and we "suffocate" in an adequate supply of O2.
Carbon Monoxide is probably the most famous Chemical/Systemic asphyxiant. When we hear of a death by "smoke inhalation," this was a CO-poisoning death. When inhaled, carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin (an iron-protein component of red blood cells), producing carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), greatly diminishing hemoglobin's oxygen-carrying capacity. Hemoglobin's binding affinity for carbon monoxide is 300 times greater than its affinity for oxygen. (Source: NIOSH)
Since 2022, there have been 20 fatal accidents involving CO, claiming 24 lives.
# | Summary Nr | Event Date | Fatality | NAICS | Event Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 160306.01 | 05/11/2023 | X | 213112 | Employee Dies Due To Asphyxiation From Oxygen Displacement |
2 | 153944.01 | 02/18/2023 | X | 324110 | Catalyst Changeout Technician Asphyxiates In Inert Reactor |
3 | 148226.01 | 05/19/2022 | X | 334511 | Employee Dies From Overexposure To Nitrogen Gas |
4 | 144028.01 | 02/23/2022 | 336412 | Pressurized Nitrogen Gas Causes Laceration In Worker'S Hand | |
5 | 141384.01 | 11/16/2021 | 335991 | Employee Suffers Carbon Monoxide Poisoning While Repairing O | |
6 | 141065.01 | 11/12/2021 | X | 334413 | Employee Is Killed In Explosion While Sanitizing Tank |
7 | 140258.01 | 10/15/2021 | X | 541330 | One Employee Is Killed And One Is Injured In Chemical Exposu |
8 | 138501.01 | 08/19/2021 | X | 811121 | Employee Is Killed By Lack Of Oxygen When Respirator Line Is |
9 | 133632.01 | 02/22/2021 | X | 484121 | Employee Is Asphyxiated And Dies In Nitrogen-Filled Tanker |
10 | 133080.01 | 02/04/2021 | X | 332312 | Employee Is Killed When Asphyxiated While Wearing Supplied A |
11 | 132978.01 | 02/01/2021 | X | 312130 | Employee Is Killed While Cleaning Out Wine Lees After Enteri |
12 | 132799.01 | 01/28/2021 | X | 311615 | Six Employees Are Killed In Liquid Nitrogen Release |
13 | 131418.01 | 12/01/2020 | X | 424470 | Two Employees Are Killed By Nitrogen Leak |
14 | 128761.01 | 08/07/2020 | 325211 | Employee Amputates Two Fingers When Tank Falls On Hand | |
15 | 127392.01 | 06/22/2020 | X | 238190 | Two Employees Are Killed In High Pressure Release |
16 | 126735.01 | 05/12/2020 | X | 488210 | Employee Is Killed After Entering Rail Tank Car |
17 | 124207.01 | 02/20/2020 | X | Two Employees Are Killed By Asphyxiation In Tank Confined Sp | |
18 | 124179.01 | 02/03/2020 | 213112 | Employee Sustains Concussion And Reinjures Back In Fall |
Event Date | Report ID | Fatality | |
---|---|---|---|
158573.01 | 07/28/2023 | 0215000 | Employee Is Killed Due To Heat And Carbon Monoxide Exposure |
158061.01 | 07/13/2023 | 0521100 | Employee Is Killed Due To Carbon Monoxide Toxicity |
157481.01 | 06/18/2023 | 1032500 | Employee Dies In Office From Heart Attack And Co Poisoning |
155496.01 | 04/11/2023 | 0950621 | One Employee Is Killed, One Is Injured Due To Carbon Monoxid |
156336.01 | 04/10/2023 | 0951510 | Employee Dies Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |
155237.01 | 04/05/2023 | 0551701 | One Firefighter Dies, One Is Injured During High Rise Apartm |
155201.01 | 04/04/2023 | 0551701 | Firefighter Dies During Residential Fire |
155661.01 | 03/03/2023 | 0215300 | Employee Dies Of Heart Attack Or Possible Carbon Monoxide Po |
153940.01 | 02/21/2023 | 0552652 | Employee Is Killed Due To Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |
154035.01 | 02/20/2023 | 0352420 | Employee Is Killed By Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |
158670.01 | 02/01/2023 | 0454723 | Two Employees Die Due To High Co Levels From Vehicle Exhaust |
157475.01 | 01/19/2023 | 1055330 | Employee Dies Due To Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |
151869.01 | 11/28/2022 | 0552652 | Employee Is Killed When Overcome By Carbon Monoxide |
152110.01 | 11/15/2022 | 0552700 | Employee Is Killed By Carbon Monoxide Poisoning In Shed |
151286.01 | 11/09/2022 | 0627100 | Employee Is Killed By Carbon Monoxide Asphyxiation From Exha |
155736.01 | 11/01/2022 | 0950623 | Employee Dies While Sleeping In Quarters Due To Co Buildup |
147665.01 | 06/29/2022 | 1032500 | Employee Is Killed While Power Washing, Found Dead In Tunnel |
151489.01 | 06/17/2022 | 0453730 | Employee Dies Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning From Generator |
146890.01 | 06/04/2022 | 0454510 | Employee Is Killed By Carbon Monoxide Poisoning While Using |