full or half face mask

What do you wear for doing attic clean ups ? Why ??

I wear contacts so its either goggles or a full face mask for me. If just going in contaminated attics for pictures or an inspection I wear a half mask.

Bushytail - I think for some folks the answer is a half mask due to comfort and other features not related to eye protection.

To me the main reason to wear a full face is because there is a risk of damage to your eyes (bits of airborne materials), or a
risk in some aspect of disease or fluid that may get on your eye and enter your body through that route. Many people forget
or choose to overlook the eyes as one of a small number of entry points for parasites and pathogens.

If dust and airborne materials are going to have you scratching your eyes or rubbing them you are putting foreign materials
many which are hazardous into your body, or at least damaging your eyes and causing fatigue.

I like my MSA half mask respirator but some recent clean up work with our NM winds has me reaching for the full face on the next
trip.

Either way, most important to me is your breathing and respiration being protected with the proper filters and mask fit and not
going in with paper N95's on.

Hope that helps,

justin

I was thinking about a PAPR (powered air purifying respirator). It's like getting AC on your face. Anyone use one?

Dave, I have used a papr in a bsl 4 lab. Hated it, but not because it wasn't great for fresh filtered air, but you can't hear what anyone else is saying.
Now for some this would be a blessing, but my experience was trying to listen to details on what was going on from the instructor on necropsy and
not hearing hardly a word he said.

They are great because they aren't tight on your face the positive pressure from the air keeps your hood and face area filled with nice clean air and it is far easier to breath in this then in the typical half and full faced masks.

That is my .02 others may likely have their own nickel to throw in.

justin

I agree

not since I quit doing insulation/AB work

the mask "fit" is the most important part the less facial hair you have the easier it is to get the mask to fit properly when I used PAPR's I would lick MY mask to get a good seal to MY face AND make sure I shaved close on the mornings I had to use a mask

It's been my experience that if we're knocking over a bank, where you have lots of surveillance cameras, a full face mask is necessary. On gas stations and liquor depots, if you can keep your back to the cameras, half masks are okay. Oops, wrong forum.

I use the 3M Powerflow PAPR. http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/3m-powerflow-respirator-3m-papr.html
Pros:
-Uses a HEPA filter (basically N100)
-Full face mask, so eye protection is included, and I think there's a kit for glasses also
-Air pushes out through any breaks in the seal, so there's no chance of anything floating in, even when you're inhaling
-Doesn't put stress on your lungs and heart, so you can wear it for long periods of time
-The airflow on your face feels pretty nice in a hot attic
Cons:
-It's pretty bulky, especially with a huge filter on just one side
-As mentioned before, they are loud
-You have to wear the battery somewhere and have a cable running from the mask to the battery
-They don't make OV cartridges for it, so even though it filters out 99.97% of particulates 0.3 micrometers and larger, it doesn't do anything for the smell. . .

For what it's worth, I think this mask is great for cleanups, but it's too big and takes too long to throw on for anything else.

In A/B school to become licensed to remove asbestos they mention that NO papr is 100% effective the next thing mentioned is there is not a minimum amount of asbestos that is considered safe this was all I needed to hear

My uncle was a plumber and because no one knew better back then, he got asbestos poisioning. But because nobody knew about it, they couldn't tell him that he was supposed to be dead. When they finally found out about it, it was to late. He was already in his eighties and decided to die of old age. And that is pretty much the truth as he told it to me.

In the early 80's I was certified to remove asbestos. We wore some type of positive air respirator helmet with a battery pack. We also had to wear those plastic suits. The pant legs had to be duct taped shut at your boots and the cuffs taped shut at your gloves. If you farted, there was No getting away from it. You Owned it!

That's why I say all this asbestos scare is blown way out of proportion. I've been around heavy duty truck brakes and clutches for way over 30 years, for most of that they were made of asbestos, dad had a pair of asbestos welding gloves we used for the BBQ, I worked as a laborer at the refinery around all the broken, dusty asbestos pipeline insulation. I can run 100 yards in about 4 minutes, that bestos crap hasn't hurt me a bit. All kidding aside and not making light of people with true asbestos problems, a small amount of exposure is nothing. Now the people of Libby,MT who have lived and breathed it constantly for 50 years, yes they have a problem. I hate the EPA and any government agency that has made scared rabbits out of the general public because they caught one little wiff of second hand smoke, walked within 2 miles of a building with asbestos tiles or drove within 20 miles of a prairie dog town that I treated with phos-toxin.

Eco Guy - How long does the batter last on the 3M?

The documentation says up to 8 hours. I don't think I've ever pushed it that far, maybe 6 hours though and it does fine.

If memory serve there are actually 3 different type of asbestos the boilemakers and pipefitters and lagging folks dying from asbestoses is what convinced me I know a fair number of mechanics who have widows now as well "pays ya money and take your chances " LOL

FULL FACE! Is their even a discussion to have here?