What You Should Know in Deciding Whether to Buy Escape Hoods, Gas Masks, or Other Respirators for Preparedness at Home and Work

Respiratory protection is effective only if:

• the correct respirator is used,
• it’s available when you need it,
• you know when and how to put it on and take it off, and
• you have stored it and kept it in working order in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions

Comfort Masks:

• Are not designed to protect your lungs from airborne hazards.
• Do not have the word NIOSH and the approval type (i.e. N95/P2) printed on the product.
• Are not cleared by the FDA for use as a surgical mask.
• Have not been tested to any government performance standards for filtration.
• Usually have only 1 head strap.
• Do not fit tightly to the face - there might be gaps around the edges.

Key Differences Between Respirators and Masks

Video

The ultimate choice in comfortable, durable protection.

The 3M™ Ultimate FX Full Facepiece Respirator FF-400 For the work you do, comfort and durability are everything. With a soft feel to the face, comfortable head cradle, plus reduced heat and moisture buildup, 3M's Ultimate FX Full Facepiece Respirator delivers premium comfort that lasts as long as you do. And it's the only respirator with 3M's unique Scotchgard™ Paint and Stain Protector, which helps keep the lens dirt-, paint- and stain-resistant - not to mention so much easier to clean.

Artificial stone used to make kitchen and bathroom countertops has been linked to cases of death and irreversible lung injury in workers who cut, grind and polish this increasingly popular material.

• The Respirator's Seal

  A good fit means the respirator will seal to your skin. A respirator can only work when air passes through the filter. Air will take the path of least resistance, so if the seal isn’t there, the air will go around rather than through the respirator – and therefore lessen the protection.

• User Seal Check: An Essential Everyday Test

  Employees wearing tight-fitting respiratory protection should perform a seal check each time they put on their respirator. A fit test ensures that the respirator is able to fit and provide a secure seal, but a user seal check ensures that it’s being worn right each time.

  Users can either perform a positive-pressure or negative-pressure seal check:

  • A positive-pressure check means blocking the exhalation valve on a half or full facepiece respirator or covering the respirator surface on a filtering facepiece, usually by using your hands, and trying to breathe out. If slight pressure builds up, that means air isn’t leaking around the edges of the respirator.
  • A negative-pressure check involves blocking the intake valves on a half or full facepiece respirator or covering the respirator surface on a filtering facepiece, typically using your hands and trying to breathe in. If no air enters, the seal is tight.

  See the product User Instructions for more details.

• Compatibility with other PPE

  Safety glasses, hearing protection, face shields, hard hats and coveralls can all vie with a respirator for real estate on a person’s face, head or body. For instance, if a half face respirator doesn’t fit well (especially if it’s too large), it can overlap with glasses. The more that happens, the more fogging can potentially occur on glasses, and the more likely it is that they’ll interfere with the respirator’s seal.

  To catch these problems before they happen on the job any PPE that could interfere with the respirator’s seal to be worn during the fit test.

• Respirator Stability

  The better a respirator fits, the more stable it’s likely to be on the wearer’s face. Fit testing determines the respirator’s ability to retain its seal when the worker is in motion. That’s why test subjects are told to go through several exercises as part of testing. A respirator that shifts during movement may not be able to retain its seal.

The biggest lung disease crisis since asbestos: Our love of stone kitchen benchtops is killing workers

Doctors are worried Australia is facing the worst occupational lung disease crisis since the peak of the asbestos disaster.

Stonemasons who cut engineered stone into a popular type of kitchen benchtop are contracting accelerated silicosis at alarming levels, after being exposed to unsafe levels of silica dust.

Use this quick selection guide to find the recommended respiratory protection for your task and face shape.

Please note: if you have identified contaminated air as a hazard, you should put control measures in place to manage exposure. The hierarchy of controls is a system that will guide you to select appropriate controls. The use of respiratory protection is one method of control which can be used in conjunction with other controls.

Use this quick selection guide to find the recommended respiratory protection for your task and face shape.

Please note: if you have identified contaminated air as a hazard, you should put control measures in place to manage exposure. The hierarchy of
controls is a system that will guide you to select appropriate controls. The use of respiratory protection is one method of control which can be used in conjunction with other controls.

Use this quick selection guide to find the recommended respiratory protection for your task and face shape.

Please note: if you have identified contaminated air as a hazard, you should put control measures in place to manage exposure. The hierarchy of controls is a system that will guide you to select appropriate controls. The use of respiratory protection is one method of control which can be used in conjunction with other controls.

One of the biggest contributors to reduced respiratory protection is poor fit.

Conducting a fit test to ensure that a respirator with a tight fitting facepiece provides an adequate seal to the wearer’s face is considered a crucial part of a Respiratory Protection Program.

Reflecting this, a respiratory fit test is mandated for compliance to AS/NZS 1715:2009 (the standard for users of respiratory protection).

3M™ Qualitative Fit Test Kits are designed for fit testing disposable and half face respirators fitted with particulate or combination gas/vapour and particulate filters.