The risk assessment process was designed to evaluate wound dressing products for use in a hyperbaric chamber. However, the same decision process can be applied to the evaluation of textiles for hyperbaric use. Important safety concerns include production of heat, production of static electricity, production of flammable vapor, ignition temperature, and total fuel load. Many wound dressings employ fabrics and other materials that are gas-permeable. It is a common misconception that a gauze bandage will isolate an undesirable product from the chamber environment. Gauze is gas permeable and will allow oxygen from the chamber to interact with the product and vapors from the product to interact with the chamber environment. Also, gas-permeable materials exposed to hyperbaric oxygen will hold additional oxygen for some period of time after the exposure. These materials should be kept away from open flames for at least 20 minutes after the hyperbaric treatment. (Source: nfpa 99 -2012 pg 172-173, 5/18/19)
