Not me man, when ever I go up in to the older part of my attic the mask and gloves go on before hand. Good post Ray. David Ferrin www.jaws-users.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Boyce, Ray To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 8:48 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] Respirators and Dust Masks - Know the Difference
How often do you see someone wearing a pair of gloves to protect their hands or steel toe boots to protect their feet but when it comes to working in dusty or toxic conditions they seem to think its ok to not wear lung protection. As someone that use to paint Cars and Airplanes for a living I can't tell you how many shops I have worked in or visited where employees think its not manly to protect themselves from poisons and particulates. After the first few months of coming home and spending 10 minutes spitting out Auto body Primer and blowing my nose to get the auto body filler out of my sinuses I decided that any garbage I would take from my fellow workers was not as harsh as ending up in a hospital bed with lung cancer or some other disease. The fact is one of the worst problems for all trades people is dust and toxic fumes used in their workplace. For plumbers there is the problem of fumes from lead solder and PVC cements and particulate in the form of Asbestos insulation. For Carpenters there is the constant dust from sawing wood. Until a few years ago Pressure Treated Woods had highly toxic chemicals and still today there is a problem with inhaling both wood particles and the adhesives used in Plywood and Glue Laminated products. Insulation contractors have had Asbestos removed from their workplace unless they are working on old projects but there is a now little talked about problem with Fiberglass Insulation that has been recognized by both manufactures and the government to be a cause for lung damage. Additionally sprayed foam based insulation either iso or urethane have been known to damage lungs both at the time of inhalation and long term effects due to out gassing. Painters have to deal with Volatile Organic Chemicals and recently most manufacturers are moving to a Low VOC mix where water based stains and polyurethanes are starting to replace oil and petroleum paints. The fact is that anything that enters your lungs even if it is inert (not toxic) can end up causing severe health problems. So, what can we do to protect ourselves on the job? Well the very least we can do is follow Manufacturer recommendations when working with products that could enter our systems. You should always read the warning labels on products that you use and if you have any concerns that there could be additional problems because you work with the product on a day in day out basis then you can visit manufacturer's and government websites to get some more basic information. For people that think dust masks and respirators are a joke I hope they have a good health care plan and a manager that will visit them in the hospital and take care of their kids. Lets go over the basic differences between Particulate / Dust and Chemical / Toxin protection available to us. Dust Masks Our first line of defense in most situations is a dust mask. Everyone has seen them they are white paper masks that fit over your mouth and nose and help to stop the larger particles of dust and paint or other larger items from being inhaled. Their cost and quality can range a bit but because they have no chemical filtration ability you can only use them in situations where a good outside air supply is available and when volatile chemicals and pesticides are not present. A Volatile Chemical can be seen in Paint Thinners and Gasoline and other products of that type. This is something that you can't stop without filtration. Dust masks are generally good for: Cleaning up job sites Sawing Wood Painting Latex or other low Toxic Paints with a spray gun Light Sanding where no Lead Paint is involved Use of weed wackers and law mowers in dusty conditions. Proper use of a dust mask means that the mask will fit tightly on your face. If you have a beard or mustache you are probably out of luck. You can try using one but facial hair is not a known good filter of anything except food getting into your mouth. Other then that we need to move up to the next level of protection. Respirators There are two basic types of respirators. Charcoal Cartridge / Light and Medium Duty and Inline Forced Air (see next page) Charcoal Cartiridge Masks can do a pretty good job protecting your lungs for short periods of time if they are used correctly. Each Cartridge system has different products that it can protect you from. If you are spraying pesticides you do not want to use a Cartridge that protects against asbestos or some other particulate. READ THE PACKAGE! The cartridge canisters may look the same but they do not work the same and it may be just as bad as using no protection at all if you buy the wrong filter cartridge. One or Two Cartridge Masks The main choice of using a 1 or 2 cartridge mask is the amount of time that you will be working. Each cartridge has a life time of use and this may be from only a couple hours to many hours. When you use a 2 Cartridge System you extend your work time between cartridge changes and you also allow for better breathing in dusty conditions. If you are painting a car or other large item the paint will clog the filter. By doubling the surface area of the incomming air you increase the time that you can work. An additional note is that most cartridges come with a particulate filter pad that is connected to the end of the cartridge. They are a poly cotton blend type material that catches dust and particles like paint. They should always be changed when you change the Cartridge Filter but can also be changed while you are working to allow better air flow. If you are painting a car you might want to change the filter pads after the primer and then again after you paint the top coat. WHEN TO CHANGE THE FILTERS You should always protect your filters by placing them in a sealed plastic bag. Exposure to Air will shorten the life of your filters because they will be sitting there filtering room air. You should always change your filters between projects. It is possible to store your filters for days and weeks between use if they are in a sealed container but it is always best to use new filters when you start a new project. Lets say you paint one of your cars and then a couple months later decide that you would want to paint a neighbors car after they like the way your work came out. CHANGE THE FILTERS even if you do not have a strong odor of paint in the resparator you should not rely on them after you have used them for a large project. CHANGE THE FILTERS IF YOU SMELL PAINT.... If you are using the filters for Painting as we have been describing you should not be able to smell the paint fumes. If you can smell the paint from the time you first start then you need to increase the airflow in the work area. Install a fan to blow clean are into the work area. If the airflow is good in the work area and you begin to smell paint in your respirator after working for some time then change the filters. This is not rocket science. If you can smell the product that you want to protect yourself against then you are not protecting yourself as good as you should be. What about things you can't smell? Some people have a very poor sense of smell and other times there are products that you are working with that you can't smell. In these cases make sure you follow the directions for cartridge replacement times and also remember to change your filters after each big project. If you are breathing through your filters for a whole day then you need to change them. Yes the costs for filters is high but there is a solution use an inline forced air respirator. Forced air Respirators This protection method is the best solution for professionals that will be working with a product over extended periods. If you are painting cars for a living or if you are an asbestos tech that is cleaning basements then you need to make sure that no chemicals or particulate ever enters your system. For this you need to wear a mask that has clean air piped to it. Forced air respirators are a very specific tool that need proper planning and instruction. Once you know what you are doing they will become second nature but you must take precaution when installing a forced air system that the position of the equipment in the shop will provide fresh air at all times and will not be contaminated by your work area. For this reason it is best if you visit your local Auto Body Supply shop and get the names of manufacturers that they carry and then go to their websites and learn how the products work before you install and use them. A final note Protecting yourself in the workplace or at home is a serious matter. Not only are their OSHA laws that regulate the safety of the workplace it is just common sence that what you do today may have a serious outcome in a few hours, days, months or years. Paints and pesticides have been known to kill people even when they think they are taking precautions to wear masks but you need to use the proper mask for the job and then you need to maintain that mask. I actually have a friend that I worked with early on and he was painting clear coat on a car. He was using a Cartridge Mask System that should have been able to protect him for the hour or so while he was painting. However he did not change his filters and then he had an allergic reaction to the paint. He was rushed to the hospital and put on Oxygen for a few hours then released but after that he did not return to work. Every person can react differently and when I talk with people that have worked in the industry for some time they say that over time their sensitivity to chemicals gets worse. In-line respirators are definitely a choice you should make if what you are doing is more then a hobby. But you should never rely on any product unless you have read and understand its features and limitations. Going overboard is always suggested. ********************************************************************** This message and its attachments may contain legally privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the e-mail. Any content of this message and its attachments which does not relate to the official business of Eraring Energy must be taken not to have been sent or endorsed by Eraring Energy. 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