Position Paper: The Feasibility of Lowering Oxygen Concentrations Aboard Submarines in Order to Improve Fire Safety

摘要

Nitrogen serves as a retardant of fires by diluting the concentration of atmospheric oxygen. Submarine crews could gain long-term protection from fire damage by diluting their oxygen supply if that would not reduce the partial pressure of atmospheric oxygen (P sub O2) to the point of causing hypoxia. Since residents of Denver perform complex tasks at a P sub O2 of 130 torr, submarine crews should be able to dilute their oxygen concentration until P sub O2 falls to 130 torr. Consequently, oxygen concentrations of 13-19% could be used to retard fires if the ship's barometric pressure were maintained at appropriate values within the range of 700-1000 torr. The risks of nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness should not exist when barometric pressure < or = 1000 torr. It is not known whether crew performance would be degraded by hypoxia since few experiments, if any, have evaluated the effects of long-term exposures to 130 torr oxygen, 1% carbon dioxide, and 10 ppm carbon monoxide. Nor is it known if the factors of an 18-hour work day, lack of sunlight, and the stressful life-style of submarine duty would interact with the oxygen-deficient atmosphere to degrade watchstanding. Crew health and performance in diminished concentrations of oxygen should be evaluated in the laboratory and at sea before the current standards of atmosphere control are redesigned to lower the risk of fire damage aboard submarines.