FacebookTwitterEmailLinkedin CHIRP Maritime draws lessons learned from an incident where acetone vapors in a confined bilge nearly caused oxygen depletion. Initial report A report to CHIRP stated “I was on a MY during an extensive refit, responsible for cleaning and painting the engine room bilges. The main bilge sump was 6ft deep, just barely enough to crouch in, and I was at the bottom, using acetone to degrease the surfaces in preparation for painting. Unbeknownst to anyone on the crew, acetone expands to over 300% of its original volume and is heavier than air. Therefore, as I was down there, oxygen was rapidly being displaced, and the vapor had nowhere to escape. I was wearing a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) mask, per SOPs, so I had no way to sense what was happening. I didn’t have a ventilation system set up, a body-worn gas detector, or a lookout posted. The first sign of trouble was not light-headedness or nausea, but a deep sense of ‘fight or flight’ in my chest, and I managed to scramble out of the bilge sump and just caught my breath enough to call on the radio. Luckily, I escaped without needing medical treatment, but it could have been much worse. It’s a lesson I’ve carried throughout my career.” RelatedNews TAIC Investigation: Ferry loses propulsion at sea near Wellington Lessons learned: The suitability of a vessel for fumigation is a critical factor var jnews_module_21365316_0_6a04e22d4f548 = {"header_icon":"","first_title":"Related","second_title":"News","url":"","header_type":"heading_8","header_background":"","header_secondary_background":"","header_text_color":"","header_line_color":"","header_accent_color":"","header_filter_category":"","header_filter_author":"","header_filter_tag":"","header_filter_cpt_post_tag":"","header_filter_cpt_tribe_events_cat":"","header_filter_cpt_web_story_category":"","header_filter_cpt_web_story_tag":"","header_filter_text":"All","sticky_post":false,"sticky_post_filter":false,"post_type":"post","content_type":"all