Once upon a time, miners used to send canaries (yes, the birds!) down into coal mines before them to test oxygen levels. If the canaries weren’t able to survive in the mines, the miners knew they wouldn’t be able to, either.
Fortunately—for the canaries’ sake—miners don’t do this anymore. But it’s still very important for those who work under certain conditions to monitor the oxygen level in the air.
In fact, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a.k.a. OSHA, has put some strict guidelines into place regarding oxygen saturation in the workplace. The oxygen concentration in the workplace must be no lower than 19.5% and no higher than 22%.
If you would like to test the oxygen levels in the air in your workplace, here is how to do it.
Invest in Oxygen Monitors
First things first: If you want to test oxygen levels on a regular basis, you’ll need something to help you do it. And these days, canaries just aren’t going to cut it!
Instead, you’ll need to pick out a high-quality oxygen monitor for your workplace. They’ll be able to keep an eye on the oxygen readings that are all around you and warn you of any trouble.
Put Oxygen Monitors in the Right Places
It’s not enough to just buy oxygen monitors for your workplace. You’re also going to need to put an oxygen monitor in all the right places.
You should try to put some oxygen monitors up on your ceiling to detect lighter gases that might make their way up there. You should also try to put some oxygen monitors in enclosed spaces that could prove to be problematic.
You should also make sure that the oxygen monitors are in places where you’ll be able to get to them at all times. It’ll be important for you to test them out to ensure they’re always working.
Prepare for the Worst
No matter how careful you might be when it comes to testing the oxygen levels in your workplace, things can take a turn for the worst at any second. This will be especially true if you’re always working around hazardous materials.
It’s why you should make the proper preparations just in case things go awry. By taking this OSHA respiratory training online, you could potentially save your own life or the life of someone else at some point.
Test Oxygen Levels Regularly If You Work in a Dangerous Place
If you work in, say, an office building, you won’t have to test oxygen levels every time you walk into work in the morning. But there are plenty of people out there who work in other environments where they’ll need to test oxygen levels early and often.
If you work in one of these environments, you should take the advice that we’ve provided for you here and put it to good use. Monitoring the oxygen level in the air will be of the utmost importance.
Get more safety tips by reading through our other blog articles.