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Take A Deep Breath
"Bad air" can kill you. "Bad air" is any atmosphere that is hazardous to your health. According to OSHA, the "baddest air" is IDLH: Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health. You must protect yourself from exposure in that atmosphere, right now.
Other atmospheres may be harmful but of lesser immediate impact, despite the dangerous downside of continued exposure.
Regardless whether the harm from exposure to the hazardous atmosphere occurs quickly or over time, OSHA has decreed that workers must be protected by respirators of the appropriate type.
This is where IBT Safety can help you out. They are prepared to help assess the hazards, prepare written operating procedures, select needed respirators, conduct training and fit-tests and supply the respirators you need at a comfortable price.
What is at risk:
- Sudden death/asphyxiation -- carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide
- Loss of lung function -- wood dust, welding fume, manganese fume, copper fume, cobalt metal fume, silica
- Central nervous system disturbances -- carbon monoxide, trichloroethylene
- Cancer -- chromic acid, wood dust, silica and
- Cardiovascular effects -- carbon monoxide.
What you need to know:
A respirator's job is to prevent the inhalation of harmful airborne substances or oxygen-deficient air. It is a device that covers the nose and mouth or the entire face or head. Respirators are either tight-fitting (dealing with covering the face) or loose-fitting, to cover the head entirely.
There are two major classes of respirators: air-purifying respirators to remove contaminants from the air, and atmosphere-supplying respirators which provide clean breathing air from an uncontaminated source. In general, atmosphere-supplying respirators are used for more hazardous exposures.
Effective respirator use can protect employees from exposure to a wide variety of toxic chemicals, such as: ammonia; methylamine; organic vapors; acid gases; formaldehyde; solid and liquid particulates containing oil; chlorine and chlorine dioxide. Airborne contaminants may also be radioactive
Respirators can also provide protection from oxygen-deficient atmospheres. Human beings must breathe oxygen in order to survive, and begin to suffer adverse health effects when the oxygen level of their breathing air drops below the normal atmospheric level. Below 19.5 percent oxygen by volume, air is considered oxygen-deficient.
Oxygen atmosphere and the Correcponding Symptoms and Risks:
16 to 19.5 % - Any form of exertion can rapidly become symptomatic, as tissues fail to obtain the oxygen necessary to function properly
12 to 16 % - Tachypnea (increased breathing rates), tachycardia (accelerated heartbeat), and impaired attention, thinking, and coordination, even in people who are resting.
10 to 14 % - Faulty judgment, intermittent respiration, and exhaustion can be expected even with minimal exertion
6 to 10 % - Convulsions, then apnea (cessation of breathing), followed by cardiac standstill.
A number of workplace conditions can lead to oxygen deficiency. Simple asphyxiants, or gases that are physiologically inert, can cause asphyxiation when present in high enough concentrations to lower the oxygen content in the air. Other toxic or chemical asphyxiants poison hemoglobin, cytochromes, or other enzyme systems.
A number of asphyxiants are gases that can evolve from explosions, combustion, chemical reactions or heating. A high-temperature electrical fire or arc welding accident causing a complete flashover in an enclosed area can temporarily eliminate oxygen from that area.
Just using a respirator can lead to illness and injury to employees. Certain respirators impose a physiological burden on the user. The weight of the respirator, breathing resistance during normal operation or when the air-purifying element is overloaded and rebreathing exhaled air from respirator "dead space" can all increase the physiologic burden of respirator use.
Job and workplace conditions, such as the length of time a respirator must be worn, the level of physical exertion required of a respirator user, and environmental conditions, can also affect the physiological burden Workers who wear glasses or hearing aids may have problems achieving appropriate fit with some respirator facepieces.
Adequate fit testing, proper respirator selection, worker training, and thorough inspection and maintenance are essential elements of any well-run respirator program. Without these steps, there is a greater chance that a respirator user will inhale potentially dangerous air contaminants, either by improper selection of equipment, excessive respirator leakage, improper use of the respirator or any combination of these.
To learn more about the whole question of respirator protection, fit testing and training, and the criteria for proper respirator protection, contact IBT Safety. They can help you every step of the way.
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To learn more about IBT Safety, contact us today!
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