The globalization of gas cylinders an 'invisible industry's' standards become widely visible

摘要

Most people, when thinking about gas cylinders probably visualize cylinders used in beating and cooking, the breathing air cylinders used by scuba divers and firemen or, maybe, the cylinders of oxygen used by ambulance crew and in hospitals. Needless to say, these few cases where gas cylinders appear in our everyday lives are only part of the story. Gas cylinders are used in every industry, from the food industry to the manufacture of semiconductors, and come in a variety of configurations and sizes. The supply of industrial gases is vital to many industrial processes and, given the invisibility of the product itself, the industry that supplies these gases has often been called the "invisible industry". It is an industry which is dominated by a few global companies which establish uniform operating practices and standards of safety wherever in the world they operate. The legislative system in which these companies operate, however, is very far from uniform around the world.