According to a study completed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there were 784 fatalities caused by unintentional injuries from non-fire exposure to gases in 2009. Gas can be explosive, toxic or even displace oxygen (O2) to cause anoxia, which accounted for 33,600 reported emergency room visits in 2012.
Common methods of gas detection is hazardous for personnel and puts them at risk or in dangerous situations. Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) increase safety by extending the distance between sampling personnel and the hazardous situation. Rhino Environmental’s sUAS fleet operates on variable frequency with seven kilometer transmitting range.
Volcanologists understand the dangers of working in active volcanic areas such as the rapid landscape and topography changes from pyroclastic lava flows and fracture development, or fatal exposure to corrosive and highly toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or sulfur dioxide (SO2). Rhino Environmental’s sUAS with multi-gas detection can quantify changes in gas composition while keeping personnel safely at a distance, even during a volcanic eruption.
Multi-gas detection sUAS capabilities include:
- 300 mL/min active pump multi-gas photoionization detector (PID)
- Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) detector
- Metal oxide sensor: pressure, temperature and relative humidity
- Sensor detector for:
- Oxygen (O2)
- Chlorine (CL2)
- Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
- Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
- Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Multi-gas detection can be coupled with additional sensors including Forward Looking InfaRed (FLIR) thermal imaging, telephoto optical, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and 3D photogrammetry.
Rhino Environmental, LLC 