Worker Safety on Operational Oil Exploration and Production Rigs

• Gulf Response Home »
• Protect Cleanup Workers from Exposure to Toxic Oil Byproducts
• Monitoring Decontamination of Wildlife
• Monitoring Decontamination of People and Equipment
• Worker Safety on Oil Rigs
• Area Monitoring on Vessels
• Worker Safety on Supply Ships
• Area Monitoring of Shoreline

Personnel on offshore oil platforms must be protected from hazardous exposures to toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds), whether emanating from their own operations or from spilled oil and oil dispersants drifting with the currents and passing nearby their operating platforms. Sometimes, controlled burns of oil on the surface provide another hazard because burning produces clouds of particulate matter that contain VOCs such as benzene, as well as elevated levels of carbon monoxide.

Recommended RAE Systems Gas Detectors

A combination of broadband toxic testing and checking specifically for benzene can be performed using RAE Systems monitors such as the MultiRAE Plus, UltraRAE 3000, and AreaRAE Steel.

The ruggedized AreaRAE Steel and handheld MultiRAE Plus can meet the requirements of broadband and multi-gas monitoring by checking continuously for total VOCs, flammable gas concentrations, and Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S). AreaRAE Steel monitors can be located at key points around the perimeter of an oil platform to provide ongoing monitoring, even in harsh weather and during changes in wind direction. The MultiRAE Plus offers many of the same features in a handheld package, allowing instant transportability for checking transient situations and examining leaks and other causes for concern, including possible oil- or dispersant-contaminated equipment. The handheld UltraRAE 3000 offers fast benzene monitoring capabilities.