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The United States Consumer Products Safety Commission (“CPSC”)
investigated the incidents which caused the deaths of Colette
Contois and Brandon Johnson. The CPSC is an independent Federal
Regulatory Agency whose role is to protect the public from
unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with consumer
products. It takes an active role in developing, issuing and
enforcing mandatory standards as well as recalling or providing
warnings related to product hazards. Prior to the completion
of its investigations involving the deaths of Colette Contois
and Brandon Johnson, the CPSC urgently issued a public safety
warning in an effort to help others avoid the hazards associated
with pressurized CO2 cylinders detaching from C02 valves when
attempting to unscrew it from the paintball gun.
The
standard threading of a C02 valve going into a C02 cylinder has
a pinhole near the top of the threads that causes a loud hiss
when the pressurized CO2 is released. The unmistakable hissing
sound is intended to warn a person who might be unintentionally
unscrewing the valve from the cylinder that this is occurring.
The industry method of assembling the valve into the CO2
cylinder is to torque it to a specific strength and place Loc-Tite
on the threads in a specific type and manner. The industry’s
only warning method relies entirely on the pinhole to produce an
audible warning – the hissing sound of C02 releasing from a
pressurized C02 cylinder.
Prior to the incident
which caused the death of Colette Contois, the C02 cylinder
valve had been removed and reinstalled by a 15-year-old boy in
order to place an anti-siphon device in the cylinder.
Following the Contois incident, the pinhole was found to be
blocked by the thread adhesive used in either the original
assembly of the valve to the cylinder or during installation of
the anti-siphon device. This rendered the audible warning
inoperative.
In the case of Brandon Johnson, the C02
cylinder did NOT have an installed anti-siphon device. It is,
therefore, unclear as to why Brandon was able to manually
unscrew the C02 valve from the cylinder if the valve had been
properly assembled according to industry standards with Loc-Tite
and the proper amount of torque. However, upon examination of
the C02 valve following Brandon’s death, the pinhole was also
found to be blocked with thread adhesive.
In both of these
incidents which caused the deaths of Colette Contois and Brandon
Johnson, the C02 cylinders were manufactured by Catalina
Cylinders and were assembled to the C02 valve by
National
Paintball Supply, Inc.. Information posted by Catalina Cylinders
on its website provides technical information for the “Valving
of C02 Cylinders”. These instructions fail to include an
instruction for the application of Loc-Tite or any other thread
adhesive when installing a C02 valve to the cylinder.
The safety
warning published by the CPSC recommends painting a straight
line across the valve and onto the cylinder. The painted lines
must stay together as you unscrew the valve assembly from the
paintball gun. If the lines separate, stop unscrewing the
cylinder and take the entire unit to a professional. If the
cylinder valve unscrews from the cylinder, it can become a
deadly projectile as it did with Colette Contois and Brandon
Johnson.
It is recommended by
professionals in the paintball industry that untrained persons
never attempt to remove a C02 valve from the cylinder for any
reason. Only a Certified Airsmith should perform valve
replacement, installation of anti-siphon devices or any other
action that involves either removing or re-inserting the C02
valve.
There
are a number of experienced people in the paintball industry who
may be capable of properly removing and re-installing a C02
valve. However, there is no uniform training for the procedure
or even a clear and consistent standard for doing so. The
greatest danger is from young paintball players who are
accustomed to modifying their own or their friend’s paintball
equipment. Undertaking this is a dangerous job and should not
be done under any circumstances. There are also many people
operating paintball facilities who may lack the proper training
to remove and re-install a C02 valve. A Certified Airsmith is
the only person who has been trained to perform this job. The
Compressed Gas Association (CGA) and the Paintball Training
Institute (PTI) provide training for and offer Certification in
the safe and proper removal and installation of C02 valves. If
you are unsure whether your C02 cylinder and valve assembly are
properly secured, don’t take the risk – either contact the
manufacturer for further instructions or take it to a Certified
Airsmith.
In the past year, considerable improvement has been
made in the valves utilized with C02 cylinders. These
improvements are intended to reduce the risk of unintended
detachment from the paintball gun. Unless and until
manufacturers and distributors recall the older, unsafe valves,
you have no way of knowing what type of valve has been installed
into your C02 cylinder. To reduce the risk of serious harm
or death you should
purchase a new C02 cylinder with one of the newer, safer valves,
such as the Smart Valve. |
