Respiratory Protection - Essay Example

(OSHA, 2011) However the kind of respiratory protection required for each situation is different and should be used accordingly to ensure maximum damage protection. Sanding Fiberglass in Open Air Fiberglass is used extensively in applications relating to HVAC (for ductwork and acoustical control) as well as structural components such as cooling tower stacks. Fiberglass may need to be grinded once it has set into place for adjustments or for modifications. The grinding produces fiberglass dust that is more dangerous than fiberglass fibers.

The size of the dust particles is smaller than the fibers so they can be transported quicker to the lungs. Given the situation that grinding is taking place in an open environment it can be assumed that the oxygen levels pose no serious concerns. The only real danger emerges from the inhalation of the fiber glass dust produced by grinding. Fiberglass dust protection is offered by using NIOSH approved N95 respirators. The use of either half face or full face piece respirators should be done after an assessment form EHIS to determine if the personnel should be placed in a complete respiratory protection program.

(EHIS, 2011) The NIOSH N95 respirators block out fiberglass and other small dust particles and offer a breathing system that extracts ambient air and filters it before inhalation. Nitrogen Leakage in Confined Area Nitrogen is not poisonous but presents a significant hazard when it is mixed with breathing air. In the provided situation the nitrogen leaking from the tubes would mix up with ambient air around the leakage. The mixing of nitrogen with ambient air would cause a decrease in the overall oxygen concentration and this would lead to asphyxiation.

In the worst case scenario, the person undergoing such asphyxiation could die too. Moreover the working environment is confined so the already present nitrogen leakage would have already diluted the oxygen present in the working environment. The oxygen levels should be checked for the confined space to determine the kind of protection required. Two distinct options are available to protect respiration using ASRs. (OSHA, 2011) One could be the use of SCBA and the other could be the use of supplied air respirators.

The use of SCBA would be overkill as the atmosphere in the confined environment does not contain a poisonous material such as ammonia. Therefore it would be best to use a supplied air respirator using plant air as a supply. Spray of Hazardous Materials in Open Environment When hazardous materials are available in a working environment there is a constant need to protect the skin as well as the respiration of the personnel involved. In these circumstances, APRs are used in order to purify the incoming breathing supply.

In order to offer protection against hazardous materials it is necessary to use full face protection. Moreover the amount of oxygen available in the environment also plays a major role in deciding the kind of respiratory protection to be used. In the given situation, the oxygen levels are reported at greater than 19.5% which means that oxygen supply (such as through plant air) would not be required. Instead the protection required would require APRs to purify the incoming air supply to the personnel.

Furthermore the PEL for each material has been crossed but the IDLH values have not been exceeded as yet. In case of hydrochloric acid the PEL is 50 ppm and in case it is exceeded, the use of a NIOSH approved respirator with a