Date: Mon, 13 Oct 1997 14:46:45 +0000 From: drake@erols.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3969$foo@default> Subject: *Silica sand safety precaution*
One of the few times I read the instructions and warning
information on a seemingly simple product recently paid off. BIG
TIME.
I bought a "comfort mask" from the Home Depot gardening center
that I THOUGHT was a respirator; it looked like one. So I bought it
for around $2 and went home. When it came time to use it I went
outside and got ready to mix the media, my first time using silica
sand.
I walk outside, and being very careful at all times about such
things as cancerous materials, I casually opened the package to read
the instructions when I notice on the back of the package a warning
message telling that the mask is NOT for use with sawdust, silica
sand, etc., and that using the mask could result in SERIOUS INJURY OR
DEATH.
There is some sort of certification standard that a mask for use
with silica sand has to pass. There are respirators for "comfort" and
casual use, respirators for painting, and respirators for small dust
particles such as lead dust, silica sand, etc.
Unless the product SPECIFICALLY states that it is NIOSH/MSHA
approved for use with silica sand, it is NOT EFFECTIVE IN PROTECTING
YOU FROM SILICA SAND! Read the label VERY CAREFULLY, as most of the
respirators I found on the shelves today as I went looking for
respirators at Hechinger were not NIOSH/MSHA approved.
If you have a respirator and are not sure if it is NIOSH/MSHA
approved since you threw away the label, I highly suggest that you go
out and buy a new one that you know for certain is approved, otherwise
you are taking serious risks.
I will definitely be carefully reading every label in the future
before using a product, especially when dealing with things as serious
as health hazards from silica sand use.
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