Although detectors are an essential application for home and commercial safety, they are also employed in numerous industrial industries. Gas detectors are used in welding shops to detect combustibles and toxics and in nuclear plants, to detect combustibles. They are also commonly used to detect hazardous vapors in wastewater treatment plants.

Gas detectors are very efficient in confined spaces where there is no continuous employee occupancy. Such spaces include tanks, pits, vessels and storage bins. Detectors may also be placed at a site to detect toxins prior to occupant entry.