Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine  2013;61(5):710-714

doi:10.2185/jjrm.61.710

Problems With Medical Gas Fitting in Great Earthquake Disaster

Yasuji TAKANO ; Shuzo SHINTANI

Country

Japan

Language

Japanese

Abstract

  The water supply system in our hospital was disabled as its elevated water tank was badly damaged by the earthquake that hit northeast Japan on March11, 2011. Subsequently, the dysfunction of suction equipment of a water seal type threw the whole hospital into utter confusion, though temporarily. We realized that injection of some degree of water could recover the suction system on manual. To minimize the damage from a natural disaster and strengthen the hospital ability for all contingencies, we have decided to employ the oil rotary type rather than the water seal type in the system of suction equipment.