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All,
Last week an on-line friend had a bad accident in his garage and almost lost his eyesight. Fortunately, he is recovering and hopefully no long-term damage has been caused. My friend is going through a painful recovery and wants all to be careful so they do not suffer what he is going through.
He was working on a project car and was getting ready to prime some doors. He had plastic all laid out to protect garage and equipment from paint vapors. His garage had a fan powered by a battery and he used a battery charger to keep the battery going. The battery was situated on a shelf head high, and as he disconnected the charger there was a spark created that caused an explosion!
A critical part of the cause of this accident is that the charger was still connected with the power on. Acid batteries give off hydrogen gas as they are being charged and hydrogen can collect in an
enclosed area. When the right ratio of hydrogen and air are present a spark can cause an explosion. The charger was still plugged in when my friend disconnected the cable. This caused the spark which ignited the hydrogen gas surrounding the battery.
The resulting explosion caused his face and eyes to be sprayed with battery acid. Luckily he was able to get into the shower quickly. He spent some time in the hospital and it was not known initially if he would lose sight in one eye. Luckily he seems to be recovering.
Another important component of an accident is the human tendency to lower ones guard as procedures become routine tasks. In the US, OSHA examines work place safety and history shows that over 91 % of workplace injuries and death happen during routine tasks, not first time critical procedures. Example if the charger is turned off and disconnected, a spark should not happen, and if time is
given for the collected gas build up to vent, the fuel source should be dissipated.
Gasses can also be lite off from several sources including internal sparks from a non sealed electric motor fan running, a fan blade rubbing or striking metal, static electricity like plastic sheeting or a cellular phone ringing.
Be it work or home, please be careful!
Carlos
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