Safety: Respirator training and fit-testing

Something i am frequently asked is, "How can i educate myself about respirators?"

This year, UNC-CH has put their respirator training seminar online at:

http://www.ehs.unc.edu/training/self_study/resp_new/

...and the good news is, ANYONE can go through the training screens and essentially "take the seminar"! You aren't asked for a UNC ID# until the very end of the training, for the portion where you take the actual test to be certified for respirator fit-testing and use in campus facilities. So, all-y'all could go through the seminar portion and educate yourselves if you so choose.

The information in the training series is dense at times and full of terms that may be unfamiliar--the best resource to have by your side as you go through it is a copy of Monona Rossol's Health & Safety Guide for Film, TV, and Theatre. She covers all the technical acronyms and terms and explains them in layman's language.

The UNC respirator training program is a general-purpose training series that covers all of the areas of employment at UNC-CH where respirators might be used, including science labs, research facilities, and social service jobs like firefighting. Some of the sections won't apply at all to theatrical and other arts studio facilities but many do.

Some things to pay attention to:

• Watch for sections that apply to chemicals and products you use--keywords to look for are things like mists (spray paints and airbrush-applied paints), vapors (these come off heated dyebaths and discharge pastes), smoke (burn-tests of fabrics for fiber content determination release smoke), and solvents (alcohol, acetone, turpentine, etc. as well as any substance you clean up or thin with those like alcohol-based paints, shellac, etc.)
  
  
• Filter changing: specifically, don't wait til it smells! If you can smell the fumes of a substance inside your respirator, your filter has ceased working and you are unprotected. It's preferable to throw out the cartridge BEFORE it's exhausted. The training session talks about how to determine this sort of thing, but my general rule of thumb is, i use the cartridge for 8 hours of exposure, then i chuck it. They just don't cost that much, whereas, say, cancer treatment totally would.
  
  
• Medical profiling section--it's a strain on your heart and lungs to wear a respirator so make sure you CAN. Several conditions are listed in the training as possible exemptions from respirator use. It's best to ask your doctor if you have any respiratory or circulatory ailments. The training doesn't mention this, but i tell my students that even if you are healthy and approved for respirator use, you should never use one for more than an hour without a "lung break"--ten minutes out of the respirator for every hour spent working in one.
  
  
• How to properly put on, take off, and care for a respirator! Many people don't know the procedure for correctly donning and doffing a respirator. This section illustrates it.
  
  
• Description of what a fit-test is like--it's described, in case you have ever wondered.

I am SO thrilled they put this online this year, because not only does it make it easier for all of us to go through it on our own time, but it benefits the larger community as well. I'm very excited that it's structured in such a way that i can share the info with my readership.