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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