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Once you are in the safety business, you start to notice things other folks wouldn't. Our offices are located in a fairly industrial part of town near a boat repair facility. Along with the workers who are using personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly, I constantly see people misusing their safety equipment. For instance, there's a guy who uses a Genie lift near us all the time. He is always wearing a harness, but it's so loose he would come right out if he ever fell. But that …

One of the big dangers if you are an auto refinisher are the isocyanates that are present in many of the paints used on vehicles. Isocyanates are a serious health hazard for those working in the automobile industry or doing autobody repair. Others who work grinding metals or with hazardous particles in their air space also find traditional filters or cartridges simply don't work (as with isocyanates) or are not a match for the atmospheres they work in. These situations are ideal for supplied …

We recently had a Pureflo representative in to refresh our memories about these great products. Pureflo helmets are powered air purifying respirators (PAPR) and are great for companies that need to supply respirators, but don’t want to fit test each employee. They are also comfortable and may be easier to wear in tight spaces where the traditional PAPR units with belts and hoses can be cumbersome. Pureflo helmets, because they have a motor pulling air into the helmet area, create les …

We have lots of folks who call us asking which is the correct 3M respirator cartridge for their job. It's not always easy to know. 3M alone has more than 20 cartridges and filters for different types of work. We'd like to start breaking down the different uses each of these products, and we will start with some of the most popular. All of the cartridges we'll discuss are filled with activated charcoal. Each has slightly different characteristics, so let's discuss which solution is best …

Welders understand that the fumes and gases produced from their work can lead to serious illness. The danger and amount of exposure to the welders depend on the type of work being done, the rod, filler metals, base metals, coatings, contaminants, as well as the amount of ventilation and respiration protection. We simply don't know everything there is to know about protecting workers from welding fumes. However, there are some common precautions that can be taken to protect workers …

We’ve touched on airborne lead exposure from indoor gun ranges in the past. Get The Lead Out – Shooters at Indoor Ranges Need Respirators.  OSHA is apparently now on the lookout for increased lead exposure for shooters and employees at indoor ranges (I’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with our post) and recently fined a range in Illinois $111,000 for airborne lead exposure limits up to 12 times the safe level. Another company in Florida was sited for not properly protecting employee …

The Bay Area abounds with many wonderful old things. Vintage boats and Victorian era houses are two that often end up benefiting from a product called penetrating epoxy. For the owners of old houses, this epoxy seeps deep into damaged or rotten wood creating incredible strength while eliminating the possibility of future rot on gingerbread, bay windows, dentils, and lentils. It is seen as almost a miracle in an age when traditional woodworking crafts have largely disappeared. For classic boat …

We've all heard tests of the emergency broadcast system over the TV and radio. The long monotone and subsequent beeps of digital information being transmitted are generally followed by an announcement that this was a test ("This is only a test"). Last night as I listened to the baseball game, I heard my first real emergency broadcast. The announcement directed residents of several counties in the Bay Area, including mine, to shelter in place. The Chevron refinery in Richmond, one of the …

There are lots of things you'll see on TV that you should stay away from personally. A recent re-run that made us shake our collective heads was the lung protection worn by folks who should know better in some truly frightening homes shown on the A&E show Hoarders. Let us say for the record that if legions of rats (or cats) are using your home as a restroom, or if you go into a house that hasn't had working plumbing since the Nixon era, there are more than likely some very real reaso …

We get lots of people contacting us wanting to know how to properly remove asbestos from their homes. The questions, and our answers, generally center around removal of asbestos from four main areas: furnace ducting, floor tiles, exterior siding, and the old popcorn ceiling. They are not all the same, and there are varying levels of success for the DIY homeowners. Almost everyone knows they are digging into a dangerous mess when they start any project dealing with asbestos. Professional …