A workshop about respirators on the job site will be offered from 8 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the Hilo Innovation Center. Cost is $20, which includes materials, refreshments and a bento lunch, and seating is limited.
A workshop about respirators on the job site will be offered from 8 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the Hilo Innovation Center. Cost is $20, which includes materials, refreshments and a bento lunch, and seating is limited.
This workshop is a part of an ongoing series of educational topics sponsored by Safety Systems &Signs Hawaii. Contact Clifford Higa at 306-9910.
3M Hawaii specialist Gary King will cover Occupational Safety &Health Administration (OSHA) regulation, identifying hazardous atmosphere levels, selection, use, maintenance, medical evaluation, fit testing and recordkeeping.
Attendees will receive a certificate of completion.
OSHA lists respiratory protection as the second-most-cited violation at workplaces throughout the U.S. Employers must ensure their workers are equipped and use proper respiratory protection.
Applicable industries are painting, automotive, welding, general construction, agriculture, utility, health care or any other industry in which exposure to hazardous substances occur.
An estimated 5 million workers are required to wear respirators in 1.3 million workplaces in the U.S. Respirators protect workers against insufficient oxygen environments, harmful dusts, fogs, smokes, mists, gases, vapors and sprays.
These hazards could cause cancer, lung impairment, diseases or death. Compliance with the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard could avert thousands of illnesses and hundreds of deaths annually.
Respirators protect the user in two basic ways.
The first is by the removal of contaminants from the air. Respirators of this type include particulate respirators, which filter out airborne particles, and air-purifying respirators with cartridges/cannisters that filter out chemicals and gases.
Other respirators protect clean respirable air from another source. Respirators that fall into this category include airline respirators, which use compressed air from a remote source, and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that include their own air supply.