Sunday, February 20, 2011

Helium and Latex Balloon Safety


Helium and latex balloons are two of the main essentials of a balloon decorating business. All packages now come with choking hazard warnings on the bag. From the very beginning of our business the helium company we were buying from made sure that we knew the risks of helium. Judy and I try to remind our customers of both of these safety warnings. The first helium company we received our helium through would always send helium safety warnings with each of their tanks. I would like to share the warning with you.
The safety warning stated:
“Helium Safety Precautions read all of the following precautions prior to using this cylinder, handle with care. This is a HIGH PRESSURE CYLINDER!
Do not allow anyone to inhale helium from the filling equipment or from balloons. Rapid suffocation can take place by reducing the concentration of oxygen in the air necessary to support life. Inhaling directly from filling equipment can also cause serious lung damage which could result in death!
Do not allow children to touch the cylinder or its valve, or to operate the balloon filling equipment.
Secure the cylinder to prevent it from falling over. Do not remove the cylinder cap until the cylinder is secured. If the cap is stuck or jammed, return the cylinder to the supplier.
Never open the cylinder valve before attaching a balloon filling regulator to it. Tighten with a wrench. Do not use leaky equipment.
Do not store or use the cylinder in a closely confined or poorly ventilated area. Leaking helium can reduce the amount of oxygen in the air, and produce asphyxiation
Do not store or use cylinders in hot areas (over 130 F.) or near flames or electrical devices.”

It was nice to find a site who was informing the public of helium and latex balloon safety. When I was reviewing the site I was looking for some specific characteristics.
  • Is the blog updated frequently?
  • Were the blog posts on topic?
  • Was this blog professional looking?
  • Is the blog unique?
  • Could I find this blog easily?
Healthy Family Matters updates there blog site regularly.
All the bog posts are based on family health. It is a site that can almost talk about anything that deals with, or touches your family.  It talks about everything from job searches for your 16 year old; too balloons and helium safety.
I enjoyed the overall look of the site. The only think I did not enjoy was all the advertisement. There seem to be more advertising than blogging.
One area I thought was unique was the “tell us what you’re thinking area.” Not only could you add your comments to each of the articles they were letting you place your own blog. There were some stipulations. Nothing would be posted unless you leave your name, mail, and website. I felt this was a great option to their blog.
I enjoyed this blog site and hope you will too. Just click on Healthy Family Matters in my blog list. This will take you to their home page. Proceed to the search engine and type in helium balloons. This bring up the article; “A few Potential Health Safety Issues with Helium Balloons.”

2 comments:

  1. I've heard some reports here and there about the world's helium supply coming to an end... Do you have any thoughts or opinions on this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Angel E,
    I have a couple of interesting web sites for you in regards to helium.

    http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Helium.html
    This site talks about the United States Government and their funding of a helium program. Which could cause a helium shortage.

    I was told by our helium distributor that if there is a shortage of gas there will be a shortage in helium. If gas prices continue to rise so will our helium costs.
    Helium is not just for blowing up balloons and blimps. This site gives you a list of a lot of uses for helium. I believe our helium supply could be mishandled like a lot of things in the environment. I personally do not believe we will ever run out of helium, but I do believe you may see the Federal Government step in to regulate it; which in my opinion would not be a good thing.
    http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/energy/helium.html
    Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete