Hyperbaric room requirements- classified?

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greenspark1

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Hi,
We're designing a hyperbaric room to house the chamber and I'm looking for any special requirements for this room. Is it a classified location? If the chamber leaks, O2 isn't explosive but makes everything else much more flammable.

I have only found one requirement in the NEC, pertaining to the equipment branch. Anyone run into this before?
 
greenspark1 said:
Hi,
We're designing a hyperbaric room to house the chamber and I'm looking for any special requirements for this room. Is it a classified location? If the chamber leaks, O2 isn't explosive but makes everything else much more flammable.

I have only found one requirement in the NEC, pertaining to the equipment branch. Anyone run into this before?
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One might be inclined to think the designer of the room would be a good place to start. Drawings, specs, etc.

I don't see how it would be classified, but there may be a need to take some special precautions anyway.
 
JFletcher said:
NFPA 99 Chapter 19 and 20 may help
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That may be a good place to start, and I would definitely look through those. But if I remember correctly, it wasn't much help.

It won't be a classified location. I think the biggest issue was static electricity - the floor may have to be conductive, and the manufacturer may have specific requirements for a grounding point.
 
Is the hyperbaric chamber for industrial processes or for treating a person?
If the latter, some parts of the NEC and other codes related to patient treatment locations might be applicable.
 
I believe not all hyperbaric chambers are oxygen enriched, some are just higher pressure (which does allow more oxygen to enter the blood stream, as I understand it.) Do you know how this one will be used?
 
Barbqranch said:
I believe not all hyperbaric chambers are oxygen enriched, some are just higher pressure (which does allow more oxygen to enter the blood stream, as I understand it.) Do you know how this one will be used?
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I'm pretty sure that the ones designed to treat decompression sickness (DCS, or the "bends") in divers are all O2 enriched.
 
ggunn said:
I'm pretty sure that the ones designed to treat decompression sickness (DCS, or the "bends") in divers are all O2 enriched.
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And I am equally sure that those would be, if anything, oxygen reduced to avoid oxygen toxicity.
I think that breathing mixtures for deep dives are not just straight compressed air.
And replacing the nitrogen with helium is not the only change in the mixture.

When treating gangrene or other oxygen deprivation problems, an enriched mixture at near atmospheric pressure or a normal oxygen concentraton at high pressure would both be valuable although not equivalent for all purposes.
 
GoldDigger said:
And I am equally sure that those would be, if anything, oxygen reduced to avoid oxygen toxicity.
I think that breathing mixtures for deep dives are not just straight compressed air.
And replacing the nitrogen with helium is not the only change in the mixture.
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Hyperbaric treatment for DCS is done with pure O2 at ~3ATM with periodic breaks of air breathing to reduce O2 toxicity..
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/health/decompression/Hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy

Deep diving mix (Trimix) is O2, He, and N2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trimix_(breathing_gas)

You aren't a diver, are you? You should try it some time; it's awesome, especially in a place like Cozumel, where I go for a couple of weeks every May to dive and deep sea fish.
 
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No diver here. Tried SCUBA gear in a deep swimming pool once; couldnt get out fast enough.

As far as a classified location, Im sure Mr Alex could answer that. As far as safeguards go, one of the things I skimmed from NFPA 99 was the requirement of a 2 hr rated wall around such a chamber. How safe do you want to be? Ever read the incident reports on what happened to Apollo 1? Things not normally considered flammable can burn like crazy in a pure oxygen environment.

Unfortunately, I am not qualified to give the OP the answer he needs. We need more information; for starters, where is this chamber being built (what kind of structure)?
 
greenspark1 said:
Hi,
We're designing a hyperbaric room to house the chamber and I'm looking for any special requirements for this room. Is it a classified location? If the chamber leaks, O2 isn't explosive but makes everything else much more flammable.

I have only found one requirement in the NEC, pertaining to the equipment branch. Anyone run into this before?
Click to expand...

I don't keep work related stuff at home as I'm an AHJ. But in my mind dealing with this stuff is it appears to be a class 1 location. Would it be div 1 or 2??? Does it in mortal operation has gases present...class 1 if not class 2. The next thing is to figure out the combustible type of gas you have...I would look and classification in the NFPA


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rudiseldb said:
I don't keep work related stuff at home as I'm an AHJ. But in my mind dealing with this stuff is it appears to be a class 1 location. Would it be div 1 or 2??? Does it in mortal operation has gases present...class 1 if not class 2. The next thing is to figure out the combustible type of gas you have...I would look and classification in the NFPA


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Click to expand...

Sorry one other thing is the classification of a space is up to the engineer or the building official....not us


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I received a PM asking me to comment on this thread. Neither NFPA 497 nor API RP500 recognize oxygen enrichment alone as a basis for classifying a location under Article 500. There is no other standard referenced in Section 500.4(B) Informational Notes that would either.

As noted in other posts, classification is based on the flammable materials present only.
 
rbalex said:
I received a PM asking me to comment on this thread. Neither NFPA 497 nor API RP500 recognize oxygen enrichment alone as a basis for classifying a location under Article 500. There is no other standard referenced in Section 500.4(B) Informational Notes that would either.

As noted in other posts, classification is based on the flammable materials present only.
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But in the presence of 100% O2, especially at high pressure, some very unlikely things become flammable. :happyyes:

I assume the codes can take that into account.
 
GoldDigger said:
But in the presence of 100% O2, especially at high pressure, some very unlikely things become flammable. :happyyes:

I assume the codes can take that into account.
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Actually they don't. In fact, they specifically avoid it. See NEC Section 500.6 opening text or NFPA 497 Section 1.1.5 for example. Essentially, special cases need special considerations that are not typically within the Scope of the NEC or other common standards. It's definitely a case where the the designer better know what they're doing.
 
rbalex said:
Actually they don't. In fact, they specifically avoid it. See NEC Section 500.6 opening text or NFPA 497 Section 1.1.5 for example. Essentially, special cases need special considerations that are not typically within the Scope of the NEC or other common standards. It's definitely a case where the the designer better know what they're doing.
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Sorry for the delay. Good to know. The application is a hospital so yes, other hospital requirements will apply. I've heard it will be used for treating burn victims and diabetes.

The chamber itself gets a 30 psi O2 connection and I am not worried about this piece of equipment. I am interested in the room containing the chamber. If there was a problem with the unit or a leak in the O2 line I could see the room becoming O2 enriched rather quickly. I am surprised that none of the NFPAs seem to identify this scenario as a potentially hazardous location. If, for example, we had natural gas piped to a similar chamber, the codes are very clear that the room containing it would be at least Class I Div 2.

Sounds like we collectively haven't run into this scenario before. It's a first for me too so that's why I reached out to the experienced folks here. Good to know.
 
greenspark1 said:
Sorry for the delay. Good to know. The application is a hospital so yes, other hospital requirements will apply. I've heard it will be used for treating burn victims and diabetes.

The chamber itself gets a 30 psi O2 connection and I am not worried about this piece of equipment. I am interested in the room containing the chamber. If there was a problem with the unit or a leak in the O2 line I could see the room becoming O2 enriched rather quickly. I am surprised that none of the NFPAs seem to identify this scenario as a potentially hazardous location. If, for example, we had natural gas piped to a similar chamber, the codes are very clear that the room containing it would be at least Class I Div 2.

Sounds like we collectively haven't run into this scenario before. It's a first for me too so that's why I reached out to the experienced folks here. Good to know.
Click to expand...


The manufacturer should have a typical install guide they will provide. For example, I was involved for a project where they installed these chambers:

http://sechristind.com/hyperbaric-chamber-products.html

I have a their typical install guide, but it doesn't look like they put it online.

Assuming the bulk tank is outside somewhere, I wouldn't worry about a leak, unless they list any specific precautions in the installation guide.

I think it would take a really large leak to enrich the air in the room around the chamber (assuming standard ventilation is being provided), and these chambers have to be designed so they don't suddenly loose pressure.
 
steve66 said:
The manufacturer should have a typical install guide they will provide. For example, I was involved for a project where they installed these chambers:

http://sechristind.com/hyperbaric-chamber-products.html

I have a their typical install guide, but it doesn't look like they put it online.

Assuming the bulk tank is outside somewhere, I wouldn't worry about a leak, unless they list any specific precautions in the installation guide.

I think it would take a really large leak to enrich the air in the room around the chamber (assuming standard ventilation is being provided), and these chambers have to be designed so they don't suddenly loose pressure.
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Very good point. Thanks!
 
steve66 said:
I think the biggest issue was static electricity
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Just as a point of interest, my wife just had 40 treatments at 3 atmospheres in 100% O². One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was a nice Extech multi meter. Figured someone working there forgot it. Upon closer inspection one lead was a SS tube looking thing and the other an alligator clip.

What they do is have the patient hold the tube and clip the alligator clip to the chamber. Then they slid the gurney into the chamber. That process surprised me.
 
Hospital: NFPA 99.

Do hyperbaric chambers vent to the room when opened or to the outside? I'd think room 02 sensors would be prudent either way, but as before it's outside my purview.
 
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