Ask The Expert - Respiratory PPE with 3M

Raising awareness of respiratory health issues is vital, more specifically around ill-fitting respiratory equipment. With an increase in popularity of beards and facial hair, it is important to use the correct respirator to keep you protected. Past exposure whilst at work has a share of the estimated 12,000 deaths a year linked to ill-fitting respiratory equipment. That’s why RS Components are keen to ensure that workers in harmful working environments stay safe using the correct equipment.

We invited George Elliott, the Senior Applications Engineer at 3M to join us and discuss the available respiratory protective equipment options and the importance of workers wearing it correctly.

We were also keen to ask his opinion on the rising popularity of facial hair in today's society and how this too can cause additional considerations and raises the need for workers to understand whether they can use tight-fitting respirators. 

Respiratory PPE in the Workplace

During the first part of our Ask The Expert discussion with George we set out to understand the range of respiratory protective offerings that 3M has to offer. 3M are leading the charge with its advancement and innovative product ranges across respirators and more. At RS Components we are keen to educate workers and reduce the amount of 18,0000 reported new cases of ‘breathing and lung problems’ each year, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Respiratory Face Fit Testing and Facial Hair

Our second Ask The Expert discussion explores the growing popularity of facial hair, what it means to stay protected and some of the legal requirements around being clean-shaven. During this discussion, we highlight that tight-fitting respiratory protection equipment wearers must be clean-shaven eliminating the risk of ‘dirty’ air passing through to the lungs.

With tight-fitting disposable and reusable respirators, the user must be clean-shaven no longer than 8 hours before their shift starts (European Standard EN 529 (annex D.4.2)). The good news is that there are some options that are regulatory compliant to protect workers who have more than short stubble or a moustache.  Ensuring a good face seal is the best measure to prevent harmful gas or dust inhalation. All tight-fitting RPE require to be face fit tested, through either qualitative or quantitative testing.

So are Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPR) be the answer? PAPR systems allow the users to grow some facial hair and still have the confidence that they will be protected in their working environment. Attracting a high initial expenditure, the benefits of implementing a PAPR system can be justified though through eliminating the need for face fit testing,  potentially improving the comfort for the wearer and Integrated eye protection. 

Products Featured: 

• Reusable Respirator 6500QL (815-4168)
  
• Air Fed Respirator M1306 (828-5681)
• TR-315UK+ Versaflo Powered Air Unit (136-5564)
• Disposable Respirator Aura 9300+ Gen 3 (181-2314)
• Reusable Respirator 4251+ (189-3493)