Do The Safety Dance (But First, Fit Test Your Respirator)

In a safe and healthy work setting, proper safety equipment is a necessity. However, there is no sense in using safety equipment if it is not being used in the appropriate way. OSHA has a set of standards to provide employers as well as employees with a better understanding of what is necessary to maintain a safe work environment. Various workplaces require various kinds of safety equipment. There are a variety of categories of safety equipment. There are forms of head protection (such as safety hats or helmets), eye protection, gloves, and various respirators and face masks. Within each given form of protection there are different types which may be appropriate for different tasks and situations within a workplace.

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Breathing protection is very important, and appropriate respirators or face masks are not all suited for the same task. Some masks are better suited for tasks involving dust or larger particles that could be damaging to the lungs, while others are necessary for work with potentially hazardous chemicals or vapors. The Assigned Protection Factor (APF) is the standard set by OSHA for the level of protection that must be provided by a respirator or safety mask. The Maximum Use Concentration (MUC) is the level of a substance that a person can be exposed to before the safety equipment becomes ineffective. This allows the employer to select the most effective type of respiratory equipment for their employees.

There are some situations in which an air purifying respirator is necessary. They can come in various shapes and forms, but they have a purifying filter in the mouth region. Low efficiency filters are 99% efficient at keeping out particles that are as small as a micro meter in size while high efficiency filters are 99.97% efficient for keeping out particles as small as 0.3 micro meters in size. Another type of respirator is an atmosphere supplying respirator. Within this category are things like SCBAs and emergency respirators. These could be necessary in situations when clean oxygen is limited.

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When one tests safety equipment, they must be on the look out for any chemicals or substances that may penetrate the equipment and potentially produce a hazardous situation. It is also necessary to watch for any degradation that may occur to the equipment, so that when the degradation occurs, the equipment can be replaced with new, properly functioning equipment. They must also test for permeation to be certain that the barrier between the wearer and the toxic substances has not been breached.

When the equipment is in place, it is important to test the fit. Faces are covered in oils and bumps, so it isn't always simple trying to get a mask to fit appropriately. A quantitative fit test uses a machine to test for any chemicals that may have entered the mask. A qualitative fit test relies on the wearer to say if they notice any smells, tastes, or irritation cause by a potential breach of the mask.Both of these test can be an effective way to test the quality of the equipment.

An employer is required to provide a written hazard assessment which informs the employee of the hazards that they may potentially face in a work place. For example, the various toxic chemicals that an employee may encounter within a workplace.

It is vital to take every precaution possible in order to ensure a safe and healthy work environment.

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No One Dared Disturb The Sound Of Silence (Because The Hearing Loss Was Permanent)

Ear Anatomy

The ear is a complicated and delicate series of membranes, bones and hairs. When the ear becomes damaged, hearing loss is often permanent and can be very difficult to remedy. Because of this, it is extremely important to monitor sound levels within a workplace. There are many occupations in which hearing damage is a very real issue. Hearing loss is the second most common occupational ailment reported by workers in America. This problem can be especially bad for people working in industrial settings, carpenters and people working in construction. 

Sounds are measured in decibels. For each five decibels increase in sound, the occupational exposure limit decreases by one half. For example, in an environment with a sound level of 90 decibels an employee can be exposed to the noise for 8 hours. When the sound increases to 95 decibels, the employee can only be exposed to the noise for 4 hours. After the limit of time has been reached, the employee's position must be taken over by a different employee, or they simply must finish the hazardously noisy task for the day.

Noise reduction can be can be implemented in various ways. Noise reducing headphones or ear plugs are a good way to reduce noises when the source of the hazardous sound cannot be engineered out. OSHA standard noise reducing ear plugs can reduce the the exposure by 27 decibels. The OSHA standard ear muffs have an NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) of 22. 

In most cases, it is more beneficial to engineer the noises out as much as possible. This can be done by setting up various sound absorbing barriers. The barriers can be made of various materials, such as foam and glass. They should be set up in such a way that it blocks the employee from the sound as much as possible. If the sound can be engineered out, hearing protection will not be necessary. 

When hearing loss occurs, the Standard Threshold Shift is the loss of an average of 10 decibels or more in one or both of the ears. 

Kitchen Classic Rock Jam Sesh

Bedroom Silent Chill Sesh

I used the iPhone app Decibel 10 to measure the decibels in my kitchen when I play music. I typically jam out while I cook. The average decibel level was 91.0 while the maximum was 105.2. I used the same app to measure the decibel level in my bedroom, where I typically keep it pretty quiet. The average decibel level was 57.9 while the maximum decibel level was 72.0.

Hearing loss is not only an issue in occupational settings. Damage can occur simply from having the volume in headphones up too loud or from going to too many concerts. There are various ways that the ear can be damaged. In some cases, the damage occurs on the auditory nerves. When these nerve cells are damaged the damage CANNOT be reversed. In some cases, even hearing aids will have no affect. 

We only get one set of ears, so it is extremely important to protect them! They are extremely delicate and can be damaged without us even being aware of it. It is extremely important to limit noise in occupational settings and to try to keep damaging sounds out of our daily lives as much as possible.