Retrograde pressurization of a medical oxygen pipeline system: safety backup or hazard?

Pipeline systems are used in most hospitals today to deliver medical oxygen to patient care areas. Intermittent reports have appeared concerning serious problems and failure with these systems. Mandated reserve systems have not provided the necessary backup at times. This article describes an auxiliary system to supply oxygen in a zonal fashion to wall outlets. The system will function during most failure situations; a hazard is inherent in the knowledge of this technique and will be examined.