The History of Gas Detection Devices: Thank the Canaries!

For as long as humans have been working in mines or other places where dangerous gases have collected, they have tried to figure out ways to detect that gas before it becomes a menace. Even the primitive methods of using a flame to gauge the type of gas a work crew was encountering, while dangerous, was well-intentioned. Here is a history of our efforts to detect dangerous gasses and how our gas leak detection equipment today would blow the minds of those who tried to detect gas in the past.

Until man realized that some work environments caused dangerous gases to collect or seep into work areas, sadly, the predominant way for workers to detect a problem was when other workers died because of the gas. That could be because of an explosion or in the case of poisonous gas, from suffocation. With gases that were dangerous over the long-term, exposure often went undetected.

The old saying is “a canary in a coal mine.” This adage is used to describe an early warning system for any number of problems, usually not related to gas detection today. Time was, however, canaries were literally used to detect gas. John Haldane, a scientist, tested various poisonous gases on himself. After trial and error, he identified a number of gases, like carbon monoxide, that was poisonous in concentrated amounts.

Haldane deduced that canaries, who are naturally “talkative,” could be sent into a coal mine and would keep making noise until they were dead or passed out. If they died or passed out, it was a signal to the miners that dangerous gases were present. It also was a red flag that it was time to evacuate.

This method was not fool-proof, but it worked well enough to save lives and to become symbolic of using a warning system to indicate a problem. It also was the source of at least one popular music song. Regardless, it was bad for the birds.

In the early 20th century, gas detectors were invented and deployed. They were cumbersome, often erratic and occasionally did not work. They also could only detect one type of poisonous gas at a time. A worker would test for one type of gas and then switch to test for another or a work crew would have several types of gas detectors deployed around a workspace. The main issue with this type of testing was that if you tested for the wrong poisonous gas, it was like not testing at all.

Like most new inventions, the time has yielded improvements. Detectors now can be stationary or handheld, are computerized and can detect multiple types of dangerous gas. They have vastly improved certain types of workspaces.

The next time you deploy gas leak detection equipment, remember the lowly canary. Were it not for them, you would probably not have the sophisticated detection equipment you have today.

 

Report this Page