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Respiratory protection is required when there is a potential for a harmful agent to get into your lungs. According to the U.S. Labor Department, an estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million workplaces throughout the United States. Respirators must be properly selected and fitted to provide the best protection to the users. Using filters and cartridges, alone or in combination, these devices can remove contaminants from the air, supplying clean respirabl …

What is MERS? The acronym stands for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome also known as Camel Flu. You may also see the abbreviation MERS-CoV referring to MERS Coronavirus (the virus itself). The virus is zoonotic, spreading between camels and humans directly and indirectly. The virus spreads through an infected person's respiratory secretions, such as through coughing. 150 people have contracted MERS and 16 people have subsequently died since a new outbreak in South Korea last month. …

The variety of jobs and tasks our customers set out to do continually amazes me. Here is a query from a recent customer about his task: In an upcoming job I will be melting lead and spraying acrylic and lacquer based paints. What mask and filters do you recommend to protect me from the fumes associated with these tasks? How does sizing on the masks work? For the lead fumes I suggest using a P100 (HEPA) filter such as the 3M 2091 Particulate Filter or the 3M 7093 P100 HEPA filte …

I wanted to follow up on my recent post on isocyanates, in which I recommended an airline respirator, and discuss airline respirators in a little more detail. What is an airline respirator? Type C Supplied Air Respirators, more commonly referred to as air-line respirators, are designed to provide long-duration respiratory protection that is independent of the ambient air in the work area. This contrasts with air purifying respirators that use filters or cartridges, which may not o …

When working with dangerous chemicals, you should always research what you will be exposed to and how to best protect yourself from it. Here is a question about working with a dangerous chemical: Does 3M make a respirator cartridge for isocyanate? For the sake of this discussion, I think it is important we all know a little bit about isocyanate. It is a powerful irritant of the mucous membranes, the gastrointestinal tract, and the respiratory system. You can neither smell nor tast …