With 2020 wrapping up, we finally got some good news. The vaccine is on the way, but with that comes some hazards that we Hazmat people need to address. Carbon Dioxide and dry ice. Take a listen to have an answer for when someone asks you about it.

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-109.3°F Dry ice sublimates. But here is a question I have gotten. If dry ice doesn't go from solid to a liquid then a gas then how is there liquid co2.C02 can't be a gas at 1 atm. It can be a liquid at -50c or -58f. The difference is pressure. In order to get liquid co2 we have to have it under pressure. The min pressure required is about 2 atm. What this means for us as responders, it means that if you have a co2 tank leak auto refrigeration wont have as strong an impact on the product as say propane, which can be a liquid at 1 atm. In a confined area this lends to a complete phase change in a short period of time.The super critical point for co2 is around 72 atm and 87.9f. This means that above that temp and theat pressure co2 only exists as a gas. No matter what……Ways of detecting co2PID. well the ip for CO2 is wayyyyyyyyy above 10.6 its way above 12 so no PID will be picking it upThermal conductivityYes thermal conductivity will but thermal conductivity will not identify a product.so you have to   confirm what you have first them you 02 sensorJust like any displacement of o2 we can start to read very very large movements of 02.However there are some sensor issues we should talk about.There might be under high co2 levels a delay in the sensor picking up the low o2. This seems to stem from a chemical reaction with the co2 in the eletro light solution and changing its ph. This tricks the sensor into believing it's reacting with o2 for a few mins.Where does this become a problem?Well in reality it becomes an issue in people who are not keeping full situational awareness.I personally have never had this happen to me. I don't know if it is the brand of meter or the sensor we are using but I have always had readings that were consistent with my co2 meter up to 5% of the atmosphere because that's as high as our co2 meters will go.However if it does happen to you you have to remember that it only takes but a breath or two of no oxygen to suddenly find yourself sampling the floor with your mouth. So if you walking into a situation waiting for the meter to tell you something is wrong then you have already taken a few breaths before the meter will react….. And that under normal conditions. If you end up with this co2 delay you can think your ok even as you move in slow. So it's just another reason to always wear your mask and maintain situational awareness.NDIRNon dispersive infrared is a great tool for measuring co2. It has few if any cross sentiivinties and and reacts pretty quicklyOk let's talk about the elephant in the room. It's dec of 2020 and the new vaccines are on their way. And many of the vaccines that are starting to come out for the coronavirus are requiring that they are shipped at cold temperatures. As a result they are being shipped in dry ice. Let's look at someone the hazards and response considerations hereLet's break this down with the harm model, ContainerThis is a bit different than most of their hazmat. Containers are normally designed to keep materials contained. But dry is the opposite. The container is actually meant to allow it to release as the pressure builds. The container itself is actually designed to hold in the cold. Well ok thermodynamically speaking it's designed to hold out the heat, there is no such thing as cold.