How safe is the air that you breathe? Most of the time, you won't think about breathing. Breathing is just something that you do every moment of your life. However, there are times that you should think carefully about whether you are breathing clean air. If your company engages in any activities that could make the air toxic, you must have a plan in place to ensure that everyone can breathe safely.
Does your company use respirators?
If you are concerned about the air your staff are breathing, you may supply respirators to enable everyone to stay safe. However, most respirators aren't something that you can buy and then ignore. While loose-fitting respirators don't require frequent checking, if you own tight-fitting respirators, you must check regularly that the respirators continue to work and that they remain a good fit for everyone who will use them. Respirator fit testing is the best way to ensure that your respirators are safe and everyone using a respirator is breathing clean air.
Why is respirator fit testing needed?
Supplied-air, air-purifying respirators come under the legal requirement for respirator fit testing. You should check the type of respirators your company own, to see what tests are legally needed, and then contact a testing company to conduct the tests. In many cases, you will discover that both qualitative and quantitative tests are required to check that the respirator remains compliant with Australian Standards. It's normal to have these respirator fit testing completed when the respirators are first purchased and several more times throughout the respirator life.
How is respirator fit testing conducted?
There are two things that the inspector will want to check when respirator fit testing is conducted. Firstly, you must ensure that a good face seal is established and no contaminated air is leaking around the sides of the respirator. The test will involve closing the exhaust valve on the respirator and seeing whether any air can escape when the wearer breathes out. Next, the inlet valve will be covered while the wearer attempts to breathe in. Once the face seal has been established, the bitter or sweet test will be tried. To see whether the air is being appropriately purified, a test solution will be released and the respirator wearer will be asked whether they can detect either a sweet or a bitter taste in the air that reaches them. If the respirator is working correctly, the air they breathe should be pure, regardless of what solution the testing company release.
For more information, reach out to a company like FitTick.
Share13 August 2021
If you are chasing success, you often need the help of a consultant to get there. Consultants can help with everything from establishing your marketing strategy to guiding your HR team and much more. Hi, my name is Jenny, and while growing my business, I frequently got the help of consultants. I decided to create this blog to show people what is possible when you work with a consultant. When I'm not blogging, you will find me busily working, spending time with my kids, running, cuddling my dog or volunteering at the library. I hope this blog helps you. Get comfortable, start exploring, and if you find something you like, feel free to share it.