Important Safety Bulletin
SM2M and SM3M Marine Recorders
Dear valued customer,
We realize that some of you may not be aware of hazards inherent in the
deployment of pressure housings containing batteries and/or deployed at
depth. This notice is intended to get the word out quickly while we work on
a more formal communication and provide new warning labels and instructions.
Please contact support2015@wildlifeacoustics.com if you have any questions or
concerns.
DANGER: Compressed Air Hazard! Marine enclosures may become
pressurized as a result of battery failure or enclosure failure. When opening
the enclosure, the cap can become a projectile under pressure with the
potential for serious injury or death if it strikes a person. While extremely
rare, safety precautions should always be taken to avoid potential risks.
When opening any marine enclosure (all SM2M and SM3M models), be sure to
exercise caution. We recommend the following:
- Wear work gloves and eye protection. If batteries failed, there may be
corrosive liquids and gasses trapped inside the enclosure under pressure.
- Lie the enclosure down on the ground, never upright
- Aim the cap away from people and consider what would happen if the cap is
forcefully ejected from pressure inside the tube.
- If you hear air release and stop, do not assume that the enclosure has
depressurized. You may have heard air escape between the two sets of O-rings
and the enclosure may remain under pressure.
- If your enclosure is equipped with a Pressure Relief Valve (PRV), it may
still be under enough pressure to cause a serious hazard.
We will be following up with more formal communications in the coming weeks.
If your best mailing address is not where we invoiced or shipped, please
provide this information to support2015@wildlifeacoustics.com. In this formal communication, we
will:
- Restate the warnings and recommendations herein
- Make arrangements to send out complimentary warning labels and
instructions to apply them to your marine enclosure housings.
- Make arrangements to send out complimentary revised manuals explaining
the risks and recommended deployment, retrieval, and handling procedures.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact support2015@wildlifeacoustics.com .
Thank you for your attention
Ian Agranat, President and CEO
Wildlife Acoustics, Inc.
|