The Hour of Unpowered RPE

A recent internet discussion on the recommendation in the British HSE document ‘HSG 53 'Respiratory Protective Equipment at Work - a practical guide’ for a maximum of 1 hour continuous wear time for any un-powered RPE raised some interesting points. Several people in the occupational hygiene or allied fields commented to the effect that no-one should offer an opinion unless they had “walked a mile in the shoes” of workers required to do this.

To ‘walk a mile in the shoes’ some people even suggested putting on an unpowered RPE (Respiratory Protective Equipment)  in the office and forgoing a coffee or hi fidelity conversation for an hour just to be able to talk from actual experience – a sacrifice that some might be willing to make in the interest of worker health.

I may be getting old but it’s surprising to me that there are occupational hygienists or allied people that have never “walked the walk”. To have spent an hour in “unpowered RPE”, relinquishing coffee and making do with the stunted conversation possible in often noisy environments, is not an uncommon experience for any occupational hygienists I know well. Then again, most pre Gen- anything occupational hygienists were based in factories and laboratories, not city offices, and spent much more time in “the field” than we do today.

Perhaps this is a by-product of the explosion of OHS into an industry which has fractured occupational hygiene into specialty skills where people are siloed. We now have people focused almost entirely on asbestos analysis, asbestos audits and other narrowed sectors of occupational hygiene. Whilst possibly good for productivity, it’s hard to see how it’s a good thing for occupational hygiene. Whatever the reason, obviously people just aren’t getting out enough.

This reminds me of the on-site OHS professional in a large, multi-national organisation with responsibility for a workplace embracing significant safety and occupational hygiene risk but unable to leave their office for a week due to safety and quality paperwork. We may have lost the plot here.

So back to the HSE HSG 53 which recommends that continuous wear-time for tight-fitting (unpowered) RPE should be less than an hour after which the wearer should take a break. Otherwise, the RPE can become uncomfortable to wear leading to loosening or removal of the mask in the work area. In these situations, where RPE is required to be worn continuously for long periods, HSE HSG 53 recommends powered respirators or airline BA, for example a loose-fitting face-piece such as a hood or helmet, as better options.

I also routinely wear unpowered RPE combined with hearing protection and coveralls for several hours while engaged in activities such as wood work, painting and removing anti-foul paints while working on my wooden boat as do many others in that line of work professionally (and those like me who can’t afford to employ the professionals and take twice as long to do the same job!).

With the exception of moisture build-up inside the mask when undertaking physical work such as vigorous hand sanding or brushing I can report no significant problems with the RPE. It’s much better than the alternative of inhaling airborne contaminants, even at nuisance levels. However, I believe that there is a significant difference between my and the other commentator’s situation and workers for whom the use of RPE is mandatory and routine.

I don't do this every day and in many situations I could avoid wearing RPE if I really don't want to by not doing the job. Having some level of control, to paraphrase Professor Peter Sandman, improves our attitude towards the risk and the control. Risks seem more manageable and less ominous and controls less onerous. I can stop anytime I want, so it doesn't bother me as much as if I knew I had to go to the end of the shift, day after day. This said, I personally do not think the discomfort is all that bad.

Terry Gorman, 3M Occupational Hygienist, confirmed that the correct respirator, equipped with a silicon rubber or other hi-tech material face mask, and properly fitted should not require an overly tight fit imposing severe discomfort if the correct size is selected. In practice, few workers who wear RPE would not have access to places where they take a “breather” and remove their respirator for a short while during their shift. Exception to this include asbestos removal workers, who would routinely exceed the 1 hour threshold proposed as would workers in aluminium smelters and other heavy industries. So it would be difficult, if not impracticable, to implement a one hour time limit or replace non powered with powered RPE (at their current price) in large organisations and even less likely in small boat builders, surfboard manufacturers, spa and swimming pool manufacturers, etc.

Perhaps HSE HSG 53 will accelerate progress toward the day when unpowered RPE is a distant memory made redundant by innovation in PPE development: first to affordable, powered PAPR; then cheap, turbocharged PAPR; and finally, non-allergenic, solar powered, gluten free, organic, superlight, super-cheap, supercharged versions for the few workers requiring PAPR.