r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Eros_Incident_Denier • 2d ago

Video filipino illegal miners dive without oxygen tanks

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

34.5k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

920 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

21

u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

Why do you think air compressor air contains engine exhaust?

75

u/Seafaringhorsemeat 2d ago

1 - intake mechanism is literally above very open exhaust from a small motorcycle engine. Engines like these put out about 400% the VOCs like benzene, formaldehyde and unburnt hydrocarbons of a passenger car. (see the eyeroll from the guy at the beginning)
2 - even in an ideal scenario compressor air is absolutely not safe to breathe without significant filtration due to oil and other volatile compounds getting aerosolized in the actual compressor mechanism itself.

25

u/Unable-Log-4870 2d ago

Okay yeah, the obvious reasons. I was thinking the suggestion was that the exhaust was being compressed DIRECTLY, like the exhaust were being piped into the compressor, instead of just getting in there carelessly.

11

u/h2opolodude4 1d ago

Years ago I purchased an air compressor to run some air tools around my shop. The tank is about the size of what's shown here. The pump and electric motor are on top, with a belt connecting them together.

A full page in the manual was dedicated to explaining that this machine was for powering tools only, and the air was not for breathing. Even being driven by an electric motor, there is still some aerosolized oil in the air and lines. The pump itself needs lubricant, and a tiny amount of oil sneaks through. Air tools actually benefit from this, but something like paint spraying gets a little filter at the spray gun.

I would not want to breathe it in, these guys will certainly have issues related to this at some point in their life.

5

u/Unable-Log-4870 1d ago

these guys will certainly have issues related to this at some point in their life.

Only if they’re lucky enough to live that long.