Quiz - Visual Inspection Procedure - True/False 1

[TMHeimer]

I’m not entirely sure what knowledge the question sought to test.

It’s self evident that the air itself is harmless—we release it through our regulators and breathe it all the time—with no ill effects other than our continued willingness to spend tons of money on scuba gear and travel.

It’s also self evident that the uncontrolled release of air associated with a tank or valve failure can be a dangerous situation, though the exact proportion of the danger posed by the air and by the metal hurtling about is hard to separate.

How people answered this question does not appear to reflect different levels of knowledge or awareness, but different conjectures about the kinds of releases encompassed by the question.

Agree. I voted false for no other reason than figuring true couldn't possibly be correct. This was an odd question.

 

[saxman242]

Agree. I voted false for no other reason than figuring true couldn't possibly be correct. This was an odd question.

High pressure air coming out of a small opening is a real embolism risk if you get your body up close and personal with it. It's one of those things most people don't think about, but putting your finger over, say, a fully opened valve, has a potential for harm.

Dangers Of Compressed Air


Normal 'ol air in a tank seems like it should be harmless, but it's good to remember that it isn't in certain circumstances... and not even all those circumstances are catastrophic ones.

 

[Vitesse2l]

I votes harmless because I read the question!

I suspected at the time there was room for discussion.

 

[TMHeimer]

High pressure air coming out of a small opening is a real embolism risk if you get your body up close and personal with it. It's one of those things most people don't think about, but putting your finger over, say, a fully opened valve, has a potential for harm.

Dangers Of Compressed Air


Normal 'ol air in a tank seems like it should be harmless, but it's good to remember that it isn't in certain circumstances... and not even all those circumstances are catastrophic ones.

Yes agree. Then again I never gave thought to getting close to a fully opened valve. I suppose you could figure the question figures no one will do that.

 

[Brett Hatch]

Agree. I voted false for no other reason than figuring true couldn't possibly be correct. This was an odd question.

I did the same. For every question of the form "Is ___ completely safe?" the reasonable response is always "No, although ___ is common practice, we are accepting non-zero risk whenever we do it."

Is this rhetoric of constantly reminding people of non-zero risk all the time helpful? I don't know, maybe, it's an empiric question whether it improves outcomes, but it's plausible. As long as you are also teaching a spectrum of risk, and the curriculum emphasis is proportional to risk (higher risk = more teaching focus), then I would expect good outcomes. Speaking as a student of course, I'm not an instructor.

 

[saxman242]

Yes agree. Then again I never gave thought to getting close to a fully opened valve. I suppose you could figure the question figures no one will do that.

Funny, my thought was completely the opposite.

If this question is targeted to tank operators, the idea that a customer would bring in a pressurized tank for inspection seems normal, and if they're trying to be efficient, cranking that value open all the way seems like it'd be almost normal. To have in the training (and then in the test based on that training) a note of "hey, even though the tank is full of benign air, the air coming out is a safety hazard" seems far more than reasonable; hell, I'd even consider it necessary.

 

[Storker]

Air released from a cylinder is harmless.

Define "harmless". To breathe at ambient pressue? Most probably. If directed at your eye at high velocity? Most probably not.

The question is way too broad to answer with a simple yes/no. And this is a good example of why making up good exam questions is not an easy task.

 

[scubadada]

If we had read the SDI/TDI VIP Manual used for the class, perhaps we would have a better idea of what this question is getting at. It might be very clear from the class materials. Perhaps @Pedro Burrito will reveal all in today's spoiler answer

 

[Pedro Burrito]

Spoiler: Answer

False.

From the manual:

Respect

Make sure your customers also realize that high-pressure air must be treated with respect. In training programs at machine shops and auto repair shops employees are warned about the hazards of compressed air. They are dealing with only 100-150 psi systems and not 3000-psi systems, as are divers. Impress upon your customers not to put their skin against the orifice and turn on the air. This can create a traumatic air embolism (air forced into the body under pressure).

 

[Storker]

it is his profession to overthink things!

Do I get the same amount of leeway?