While poor fitting gloves are an inconvenience, a poor fitting respirator is much more. If a tight-fitting respirator doesn’t fit right, it is not just a matter of comfort or convenience – it will not create a proper seal and puts your health at risk.
Importance of Respirator Fit
A good fit means the respirator will seal to your skin. A respirator can only work when air passes through the filter. Air will take the path of least resistance, so if the seal isn’t there, the air will go around rather than through the respirator – and therefore lessen the protection.
Importance of a User Seal Check
You’ve put on your respirator and other safety equipment. It’s time to get to work. You know your employer chose appropriate equipment for your job, and you passed your annual respirator fit testing. So you’re good to go, right? Not until you perform one easy task that should be an ingrained habit every time you use a respirator: a user seal check.
3M and the Science of Fit Testing
3M has been applying fit test science to respirator wearers’ life for years. We even pioneered the creation of the saccharin qualitative fit test protocol – the first qualitative fit test for filtering facepiece respirators based on taste of a test agent.
Have You Heard: What’s Your Least Favorite Sound and Why?
We acknowledge that loud noises can harm our hearing, and we understand the tremendous benefits of wearing hearing protection. But what we want to know is why this is important to you. We want you to be fans of the sounds around us. Here are some responses to the question “What’s your least favorite sound and why?”
Have You Heard: What’s Your Favorite Sound and Why?
We acknowledge that loud noises can harm our hearing, and we understand the tremendous benefits of wearing hearing protection. But what we want to know is why this is important to you. We want you to be fans of the sounds around us. Here are some responses from around the world to the question “What’s your favorite sound and why?”