As someone who spent a good part of their career in Hazmat, I have a VERY good idea of what respirators can, and can not, do.
For instance, we NEVER require someone to wear a N95 “mask” or respirator. Simply put, if you need the protection, a comfort mask of that type will not work. Full stop. As you said they get wet (person record is 5 minutes till I was waterboarding myself with sweat), they leak on the edges, and most people do not know how to wear them. We call them “comfort” masks, because if you are working in a dusty atmosphere where there is no risk of injury, they are nice to have. But they can not be required as PPE, because they don’t work. If you are reusing one for 3 days, that is an OSHA violation and a rather hefty fine.
In hazardous dust situations, such as crystalline silicone, heavy metal, and such where the danger is JUST inhalation, we required something like this.
I have a soft spot in my heart for my 6300. Have a few personal ones for doing projects around the house. However, you MUST be fitted, tested, and trained to use one. When I see pictures of nurses and doctors showing bruising after wearing respirators, I cringe. Not only on they not wearing them right, they are probably not having complete protection. I can see that there is leaks around the edges of the eyes, and up around the nose. Tighter does not mean better seal. They also MUST be cleaned after use. The nice thing is a dilute solution of sodium hypchlorite (bleach) and soak will clean and kill everything. They are reusable, and much more comfortable to wear. You do look like a move extra, but for me that is just a perk.
However, this bug can attack through mucus membranes (as I understand) so that requires a full face respirator. I used to be a big fan of the 7 and 8000 3M series, but over the years have gravitated to MSA 3000 series masks. These provide complete face coverage, good seal, and having spent 8 to 9 hours in one not stop, less skin irritation. One of the “nice” things about working in an acid gas environment is that if you have a leak, you will know IMMEDIATELY. HCl gas is smaller than a virus, and irritates mucus membranes at very low concentrations.
However, it takes training wear this. The most common problem I saw was people refusing to shave and wash their face (need a good sealing surface) and when they took the gear off. To decon, you need at least two people giving you the full “Silkwood” shower in order to make sure you are not spreading the contagion (chemical, biological, or nuclear) all over yourself. That also takes training, and is not a natural act.
The majority of the injuries I saw in my years on hazmat had to do with improper respirator sealing (I fired a guy once who refused to shave his beard before going into a hot area), and decon while removing PPE. One gal spent all day in a chlorine atmosphere, but ended up with eye injuries coming out because she was embarrassed in decon and didn’t do the right procedure. I told her “trust me, no one is looking while wearing the Green Giant suits.
For those of us that have worked with ‘peel the paint off your house’ chemicals, this is familiar. For many if not most medical staff it is not common. When my kid was in the NICU, I became a hand washing nazi. Many doctors would just walk in without washing, or using sanitizer. The head doc was great, and kept telling the new students “If Red makes you wash, WASH! I DON’T CARE IF YOU THINK YOU ARE CLEAN FROM THE ROOM BEFORE!” Dr. Jan was awesome, but she was an exception.
would have been an OSHA violation. Now it’s accepted practice because we don’t have the supplies to do otherwise
Questions...
What about the filters when you are cleaning the mask, leave them on or take them off?
For a regular half-face with two cartridges do you have a WAG on how long they can be used and how effective are they when used in this context (CV-19)? They are Honeywell-North NIOSH P100 part number 7580P100.
What is a good household material to use as a pre-filter wrapped and secured over each of the two filters?
Thanks!
.