Respiration protection
Criteria of the selection of devices of respiration protection
- full-face masks have to be used when the inhaled air contains particularly toxic substances, the concentration of gas in the air exceeds 0.1 % by vol.
- fresh air or compressed air devices of respiration protection have to be used on case the hazardous gas in the air is non-odorous, e.g. in the case of carbon monoxide
- when gas filters are applied, there may not be solid toxic particles present
- when particle filters are applied, there may not be toxic gases or vapours present
Sign and field of the application of the particle filters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Letter | Colour code | Field of application | |
P1 | white | 5-fold of the permissible concentration | against solid particles, e.g. dust, powders |
P2 | white | 10-fold of the permissible concentration | against solid and liquid particles, e.g. fog |
P3 | white | 50-fold of the permissible concentration 200-fold of the permissible concentration | against solid and liquid particles classified as toxins and strong toxins, e.g. fog |
Types of gas filters | ||
|---|---|---|
Letter | Colour code | Field of application |
A | brown | gases and vapours with boiling points over 60°C |
B | grey | against inorganic gases, e.g. hydrogen sulphide, with the exception of carbon monoxide |
E | yellow | against the gases and vapours of sulphur dioxide and other acids |
K | green | against ammonia and organic amine derivatives |
Capacities of the A, B, E, K type gas-filtering canisters | |||
Max. hazardous material concentration | Class 1: small | Class 2: medium | Class 3: large |
0.1 % vol. | 0.5 % vol. | 1.0 % vol. | |
The use of the filtering type devices of respiration protection has the condition that the contaminant that is present in the air is known, while the concentration of the toxic contaminant does not exceed 0.1 % vol., and the oxygen concentration in the air is over 17 % vol.
No device of respiration protection equipped with a filter can be used:
- in closed rooms of small airspace (tanks, tunnels, shafts, etc.), or
- if the environmental conditions are unknown, or
- if the quality or properties of the contaminants may change during use,
- in atmospheres lacking sufficient oxygen,
- when the concentration of contaminants is over the permissible level.
Major standards pertaining to personal protective equipment for respiration protection:
Number of the standard | Designation of the standard |
|---|---|
MSZ EN 140 | Devices of respiration protection. Half-face and quarter-face masks. Requirements, tests, markings |
MSZ EN 141 | Devices of respiration protection. Gas filters and combined filters. Requirements, tests, markings |
MSZ EN 143 | Devices of respiration protection. Particle filters. Requirements, tests, markings |
MSZ EN 149 | Devices of respiration protection. Particle-filtering half-face masks. Requirements, tests, markings |
MSZ EN 132 | Devices of respiration protection. Terms and definitions, pictograms |
MSZ EN 136 | Devices of respiration protection. Full-face masks. Requirements, tests, markings |
When selecting the filters for protection against particles, gases and vapours, the concentrations of the hazardous substances have to be taken into consideration.
Combined filters can be chosen only by taking the concentrations of both hazardous materials into account (i.e. both for gas and vapour, as well as powder and other solid particles). The excessively high concentration of any substance excludes the applicability of combined filtering.
Choose only such devices of respiration protection on the filtering canister of which the manufacturer indicates the warranted lifetimes of the gas and combined filters.