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The great thing about the PK Safety Black Friday specials is you don't have to stand in line in the dark. Or miss your family meal. There will be no danger of being trampled. What you do have is the opportunity for great savings from the comfort of your keyboard. The 3M Mold Remediation Respirator Kit is an excellent example. While this full-face respirator with P100 HEPA air filters is ideal for keeping mold spores from your lungs and eyes, it's also an outstanding all-around res …

Companies that have significant stores of ammonia or even waste treatment plants with chlorine run the risk of serious hazards if things go from all is normal to all heck breaking loose. Refrigeration plant operators, supervisors, and facility managers are all aware of the dangers, but in the heat of the moment well-placed safety equipment can make all the difference. Most folks who work in an ice or refrigeration plant or other facilities that store, use, or create byproducts of haz …

As a guy who has lost a fair amount of brain cells to paint and varnish vapors I know better than most that many projects aren't properly ventilated. (Yes I called them paint and varnish fumes in the title because that's what folks search for. Fumes are heated solid particles - think burning metal. Vapors are gaseous. I haven't lost all my brain cells.) That being said, there are some jobs that even I know have to have a fresh air source. Respirators are great, but in an environment wit …

"OSHA certified" is a bit of a misnomer. OSHA produces the standards which personal protective equipment must meet, but the organization doesn't certify equipment. The  Allegro air line respiratory systems, for example, are made to fulfill safety requirements, and are useful against a range of workplace challenges. While you need equipment that meets the OSHA requirements for your specific work place challenge, you won't find anything that is actually OSHA certified or OSHA approved. …

At PK Safety we're here to help. There are lots of different jobs out there, and they all have their special requirements. This week we had a couple questions that hadn't come up before. A new customer asked: I am looking for a mask that will greatly assist in preventing the odor of a decaying human body. As a Justice of the Peace I am called to perform inquests on deceased persons that may have been demised for an extended period of time. What do you recommend?750 Great questio …

Ebola was exciting wasn't it? I'm not talking about the terrible disease that some African countries are still struggling with. I'm talking about those amazing news reports getting everybody all whipped up. While we talked about basic precautions against the more likely scenarios, we are not the largest news agency in the world (shocking, I know). Now we are overstocked on some of our best respirators, and if you haven't added them to your Walking Dead safety kit, or you just need great lu …

Respirator filters are rated according to how much particulate matter they can reliably block. A P100 rating is the highest for personal respiratory protection. As long as your mask fits properly a P100 filter will block 99.9% of particles .3 microns or larger. (If you're interested in the nitty-gritty the CDC has a comprehensive and fairly unreadable guide to particulate respirators.) In defense of the CDC, there are a huge range of hazards, and not everyone can wax poetic about lun …

Protection from the Ebola virus continues to dominate the news. More agencies and individuals are discussing full-face and half-face respirators as solutions for care givers. But without proper fit testing, these masks may not be as effective as a towel held over your nose. Fit testing for respirators requires some specialized equipment as well as an understanding of how respirators protect the lungs. The equipment consists of a hood that goes over the person wearing the respirator, …

There are many types of fishermen out there. You've got your novice line-tanglers, commercial long liners, bass addicts, deep sea cigarette smokers, ticklers, ice fishermen, bow and arrow types. And while many folks like to fish, there are some anglers who operate further out in the deep end. I'm talking specifically about that special, dedicated breed of fisherman who make their own lead weights and jigs. To make these fishing accessories lead from old tire weights and other sources is …

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 …