Field research report on the performance of MSA powered air purifying respirators on silica flour baggers at Illinois Mineral Co., Elco, Illinois.

Details

• Personal Author:
  J MJ ; Myers WR
• Description:
  Data was collected and visual observations were made of a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) for silica (14808607) bagging operations at the Illinois Mineral Company, Elco, Illinois, on January 27 to 30, 1981. Quality assurance and performance evaluation tests were also performed on the PAPR at the NIOSH testing laboratory. The evaluation was requested by the environmental control supervisor of the company on behalf of an unspecified number of workers. Air samples were collected inside and outside the facepieces of the PAPR to establish a system protection factor (SPF) for the apparatus which was the concentration of silica dust outside the facepiece divided by the inside concentration measured during sampling. Particulates were found around grommets and necks of filter cases of PAPR units used by workers. Units tested in the laboratory had no particulates on grommets or necks, but had SPFs of more than 1000, compared to much lower SPF values in PAPR units worn by workers (8 to 182). The authors recommend discontinuation of use of the unit until design problems are corrected. When use is resumed, all components should be thoroughly cleaned after each use and stored in a container to avoid contamination.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Fatigue Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metal Workers Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air-sampling Mineral-processing NIOSH-Author Occupational-exposure Personal-protective-equipment Protective-equipment Respirators Silica-dusts Silicon-compounds Worker-health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-51
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00131980
• Citation:
  NIOSH 1981 Mar; :1-51
• CAS Registry Number:
  Quartz (SiO2) (CAS RN 14808-60-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1981
• NORA Priority Area:
  Respirator Research ; Respirators ; Control Technology and Personal Protective Equipment ; Research Tools and Approaches
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:523420ed6ec57cb6655d9dbf9ae7bab43ed74acb9b08b2cb90eb37f7f7633cd308ef08f0ad7af66b98977ae0e1fb5d86de05d43529b902c07ad78d39c91dcbe8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/179540/cdc_179540_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.14 MB ]