Safety Information

Safety information from miscellaneous sources.

2018 Flu Update

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Due to the recent news regarding the flu across the country, we teamed up with the Portage County Combined Health District to provide you with a local update and some training tools that you can use and share with your staff to help prevent the flu at your facility.

Here is a press release from the Portage County Combined Health District regarding the flu. Click here to view the press release.

Related Podcasts that could be used as flu prevention training tools:

    • Episode 13 – Safety Talk: Flu Prevention. In this Safety Talk, Susan Forgacs, Public Health Nurse from the Portage County Combined Health District gives us some timely tips on flu prevention. (7:50) This episode would make a great meeting ice breaker or tool box talk!
    • Episode 14 – 2018 Flu Update Interview. In this interview, Susan Forgacs, Public Health Nurse from the Portage County Combined Health District answers questions regarding local flu stats and vaccination information. (7:19)

Thanks and remember to stay safe!

Sincerely,

Facial Hair & Respirators: January 2018 Safety & Hygiene Corner

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Question:

So, you want to grow out your beard, but wear a tight-fitting respirator at work?

Answer:

Ensuring the respirator seal is a vital part of respiratory protection practices. Facial hair that lies along the sealing area of a respirator, such as beards, sideburns, or some mustaches, will interfere with respirators that rely on a tight face piece seal to achieve maximum protection. Facial hair is a common reason that someone cannot be fit tested.

The reason for this is simple – gases, vapors, and particles in the air will take the path of least resistance and bypass the part of the respirator that captures or filters hazards out. So then, why can’t facial hair act as a crude filter to capture particles that pass between the respirator sealing area and the skin?  While human hair appears to be very thin to the naked eye, hair is much larger in size than the particles inhaled. Facial hair is just not dense enough and the individual hairs are too large to capture particles like an air filter does; nor will a beard trap gases and vapors like the carbon bed in a respirator cartridge.  Therefore, the vast majority of particles, gases, and vapors follow the air stream right through the facial hair and into respiratory tract of the wearer. In fact, some studies have shown that even a day or two of stubble can begin to reduce protection. Research tells us that the presence of facial hair under the sealing surface causes 20 to 1000 times more leakage compared to clean-shaven individuals.

The Respiratory Protection standard, paragraph 29 CFR 1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A), states that respirators shall not be worn when facial hair comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interferes with valve function. Facial hair is allowed as long as it does not protrude under the respirator seal, or extend far enough to interfere with the device’s valve function. Short mustaches, sideburns, and small goatees that are neatly trimmed so that no hair compromises the seal of the respirator usually do not present a hazard and, therefore, do not violate paragraph 1910.134(g)(1)(i).

Provided by Ohio BWC staff.