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Hooray hooray it’s respirator day! There are so many to thank, air borne pathogens, asbestos and lead, don’t forget those sneaky little unseen particulates, and especially the CDC for all their hard work in making this happen. Without them, well, the N95 face mask would be just another underutilized tool in the fight to keep people safe and healthy. I’m sure that if Superman ever needed a mask (not for breathing or even a disguise, mind you. Those glasses and hairstyle are clearly a genius …

Those of you who order regularly from PK Safety Supply may have noticed some of your items are showing up even faster than before. No, we're not making UPS drivers break the speed limit or delivering your packages via drone. We've simply expanded our warehousing to include an East Coast location so our most popular items can be delivered anywhere in the US within 48 hours. While our new PK Safety warehouse outpost is still in it's early stages, it demonstrates our commitment to getti …

EARTHQUAKE! “A well my hands are shaky and my knees are weak I can't seem to stand on my own two feet Who do you thank when you have such luck? Oh San Andreas, I'm all shook up yeah, yeah, yeah” All Shook Up – 1957 written by Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley. (Cleverly modified 8/2014) In the breaking dawn of August 17 th, 2014, a 6.0 earthquake struck Northern California. Major structural and property damage, as well as more than 120 people, were injured. This was the l …

When I started writing for PK Safety Supply three years ago, it was primarily because I needed a job. The offices were also close to home, the folks seemed nice, and they provided health care. Now, after writing over 250 blog posts and hundreds of website product pages, I've come to understand something about safety and the people who work in this industry. Everyone wishes they could find their true calling. We have a faux-motivational poster in the office that says "Get to Work. You …

In order to get out of your protective clothing without subjecting yourself to the materials you've been so careful to avoid, field decontamination procedures should be followed carefully. This process does not make the garment safe for re-use. Rather it is a way to extricate yourself from the clothing that has protected you before it is discarded. DuPont's protective Tychem garments, like their more common Tyvek hazmat coveralls are designed for limited-use applications. Even the he …

Fear of Ebola is spreading much faster than the actual virus. We've been inundated with questions over the past week about protective clothing. And since the internet is filled with the opinions of Preppers and armchair physicians weighing in on the decision to transport American aid workers infected with Ebola to an Atlanta hospital, we decided we'd weigh in with our more informed recommendations for protective equipment along with information we've gleaned from our discussions with DuPon …

There is some debate as to whether or not the PIP EZ-COOL Cooling Towel looks cool, but there's no question it helps reduce your body temperature and keep you more comfortable while you're working. The Cooling Towel is activated with a small amount of water. To use it, simply wet it with water from the sink or a splash of water from your bottle, then wrap the springy blue towel around your neck, put it over your head, or cut it into strips and tie it around your wrists or anywhere you can …

Several painters have contacted us lately with questions about our airline respirators. Mostly these guys are painting cars, car parts, or completing repairs. They want to know about contaminants in the air, if their shop compressor can be used, and how many guys can work on the different compressors. The answers in order are: Yes. Sometimes. It depends. We've talked about the dangers of isocyanides contained in urethane paint in previous posts. It's scary stuff. It can't be filtered …

Sour gas typically refers to natural gas containing very high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Just how much H2S content makes gas sour is up for debate, and debate it they do. Our interest in this issue is the protection of workers who operate near extraction, refinement, or transportation facilities. We all know OSHA can be a bit behind the times, but their basic suggestions about general health and safety with regards to H2S are sound. They say simply that active monitori …

We get lots of questions about the products we sell. It's nice when we have the perfect answer. (Yes, it happens often.) Recently a mail handler sent us a note. Actually it was an email, so we'll withhold her name in case she gets in trouble with the snail mail police. At her job she deals with parcels, letters, and large envelopes mainly, but dabbles in crates and tubes. Wait, is a tube a parcel? I don't know. She's the expert in mail. We're the experts in gloves. She wrote: "LOVE t …