Recognising & Addressing The Hazards Of Oxygen Enrichment

Oxygen safety in glass manufacturing facilities is an important topic for several reasons, such as the lack of familiarity with the product; due to the need to improve operations, new uses of industrial grade oxygen have been implemented in melting operations at many plants. Emissions requirements have recently become a strong economic driver for this acceptance in use. Another reason is too much familiarity! At most sites, oxygen has been in sue for decades in welding and other operations, so complacency becomes the issue that can lead to preventable injuries. This article offers some advice to glass industry personnel about the safe handling of oxygen.