The oil and gas industry is one of the most dangerous verticals in the economy, for many good reasons.

Those who work in the oil fields have a love for the work and they sacrifice much to get us the oil and gas that we need to keep our economy going. We should tip our hats to them.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious via a Creative Commosn license]

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Richard Masoner/Cyclelicious via a Creative Commons license]

And we also should do whatever we can to help them be as safe as possible, even in situations where risks are difficult or impossible to avoid. Take those workers who are gauging hydrocarbom storage tanks at well sites. tThere has been a recent wave of deaths and serious injuries due to overexposure to highly concentrated hydrocarbon gases and vapors, or HGVs, in environments where oxygen is lacking.

The risks have gotten so high that various stakeholders actually collaborated with OSHA and NIOSH to put out a hazard alert for workers who work around these storage tanks to do manual gauging, which is how they become exposed to very high concentrations of HGVs – concentrations as much as 100-percent higher than what is called the lower explosive limit (serious issues can arise at just 10 percent above the limit).

At such high concentrations in areas where there is much less oxygen than what is needed for safety, workers getting exposed to HGVs like this can experience very quick cardiac death (could be in seconds), plus unconsciousness and a marked drop in function of the central nervous system in the body.

The alert is designed to warn supervisors, managers and field workers to be aware of these dangerous environments and to either take advantage of technology or dramatically increase uses of ventilators and breathing devices. There is technology available that allows workers to gauge these storage tanks remotely, so they are not having to be near the tanks to gauge manually, allowing workers to be in a more oxygen-rich environment and be away from these high-concentration HGVs.

There is a hazard alert out, and there was a report filed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that advised health professionals working in the area of active oil and gas fields to be educated and aware of the symptoms of exposure to concentrated HGVs and treat them as quickly as possible, including taking the worker off the field until there is sufficient oxygen re-established in the body. Some of these symptoms are common for being in high altitudes, such as dizziness, disorientation or impaired movements.

If you are interested, the CDC report is available online, and you can take a peek at the hazard alert from OSHA and NIOSH as well, and take steps to ensure your oil and gas workers are as safe as possible in whatever worksite environment.