Is Canned Oxygen Dangerous?
Several factors can be used to answer the question, “Is Canned Oxygen Dangerous?”
Supplemental oxygen is completely safe if used as directed. Supplemental oxygen is used by both healthy people and those that require it for medical purposes.
Pure 100% Oxygen Can Be Used for 24-48 hours
“100% oxygen can be tolerated (breathed) at sea level for about 24–48 hours without any serious tissue damage.”
[Normal air is 21% Oxygen. Canned supplemental Oxygen can be 90+% Oxygen. (Canned recreational Oxygen is usually less than 100%)].
Click for official research on Oxygen safety
Oxygen Is Not Inflammable
By definition, Oxygen is an oxidant that can keep a fire burning but will not explode itself unless burning material is added to it. Oxygen itself is not a fuel and thus is not flammable. As it will not combust, spontaneously or otherwise, it is also not inflammable.
Oxygen is considered a Hazardous substance to notify users of this effect, not because Oxygen in itself is dangerous. It needs to be handled and packed away from products that are potentially flammable. http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=954
What Is Supplemental Oxygen
Supplemental Oxygen is simply Oxygen provided in addition or supplementary to “normal” breathing. Supplemental Oxygen can be breathed in several formats and it can be delivered from medical respirators attached to Oxygen cylinders through to short pumps / bursts from hand-held cans filled with pressurised Oxygen. With supplemental canned Oxygen the user places a mask attached to the can over their mouth, pulls a trigger to release the Oxygen (just like other aerosol sprays) and breathes in deeply. With supplemental Oxygen from medical-type respirators the user places a specialised mask over their mouth and nose or perhaps mouth depending on the mask. The Oxygen flow here needs to be regulated according to special medication directions.
You can see some research summaries and papers here (https://pumptoxygen.com/science/).
