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In a message dated 96-11-15 11:29:18 EST, you write: << some acetelyne MAY have back flowed into that cylinder due to a bad check valve on the welding rig. It has no affect on welding but could if you breathed it at depth. >> Speaking from a strictly theoretical standpoint, isn't acetylene considered physiologically inert? I can't put my finger on my source, but I have seen acetylene listed as such. Chemically, it is highly reactive, and is very unstable at pressures much over two atmospheres absolute, with or without oxygen. If a nearly empty O2 cylinder had some acetylene in it when it was refilled, I believe the acetylene would oxidize immediately, probably leaving only carbon dioxide and water vapor. Another possible contaminant would be the acetone in which the acetylene is dissolved in its storage cylinder (actually, the acetylene cylinder is packed with a porous filler, which is then saturated with liquid acetone, which in turn has gaseous acetylene dissolved in it - total pressure is only a few hundred psi.) Like the acetylene, the acetone would, in my opinion, oxidize as soon as it was exposed to high pressure oxygen. Any chemistry-conversant people here who might be more knowledgeable about this? All this said, I still have only used medical O2 except for one occasion when we used industrial gas on a hang. It tasted OK, and I'm still here. Dan ========================================================= Daniel R. Fountain [Lake Superior] dfountain@ao*.co* CIS 76545,1467 "Diving skills cannot be taught, they can only be learned." - Richard Pyle =========================================================
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