How many of you.....

General Composites Discussions Composites Talk
#1

Who here is using a fresh air respirator? We started using them and at first they were pain in the a$$ but I am starting to love using them. More of a peace of mind thing for me and my employee’s, I am less concerned when spraying up the moulds or die-grinding carbon.

We had a workplace safety inspection done and one of the major area’s of concern was exposure to isocynates from spraying the moulds and clearing/painting composites as well as exposure to the isocynates in hardeners. I initially thought our protective masks were sufficient but we were given some studies showing the only “real” protection is to use fresh air respirators on a continual basis’ since exposure leads well after the spraying has stopped.

We ended up getting some air respirators and ran lines outside the building to pump air in. The respirator units attach to the line where there is a continual source of fresh air.

Just curious what some of you guys are using or doing? Are you aware of concerned about isocynates? I reviewed a lot of the TDS & MSDS sheets to see how many products have this stuff and was surprised to learn a whole heck of a lot of what we use has it. Not just limited to paint & coatings…

#2

When I worked with polyester in my garage I used a respirator. It might be unnecessary but I noticed myself feeling quite ill after making some molds, even with the door open. I used a respirator after the first day, and even though it was a bit of the pain, I didn’t feel as bad at the end of it

#3

I use a fresh air system when shooting anything with Iso’s. I don’t use a respirator when doing layups…but I only use epoxies. I’d wear a respirator if I was doing hand layups with PE or VE.

#4

I’ve been using the fresh air system for a while now and love it. I don’t have to worry about changing cartridges or have to keep track of how many work hours the cartridges have been used. Just throw on the mask and hit the on switch. :slight_smile:

#5

The big advantage of fresh air respirators is twofold:

-a nice breeze over the face, which cools you down
-no restrictive airflow through filters, so you do not get tired just from breathing.

and of course, fresh air clearly is healthier than iso-clogged air, or styrenated air.

#6

What is a respirator? :stuck_out_tongue: There arn’t health concerns with the chemicals we work with are there? :smiley: I thought that pain in your kidneys was normal…

I use a fresh air system any time I work with the stinky crap and keep it in a seperate storage area for good measure. Doing a normal infusion with epoxy on a seasoned mould I don’t wear anything but a couple pairs of gloves…

#7

Agreed with all your points…the fresher the better air-wise. We are mask-less during lay-up since we are epoxy as well, the masks are for when we spray a urethane based coating in the mould prior to lay-up, the coating sits for 16 hours prior so it has long ended with the iso emits.

I was just curious how many are charcoal to fresh air respirator users here…

#8

Harbor Freight b****es.

I need to look up some fresh air respirators.

#9

I once bought some cheap respirator from a DIY store. You cannot believe how hard it was to breath through. A quality respirator already makes a huge difference.

But fresh air directly from the parking lot where your boss is trying out his new V8 is much better, of course… :slight_smile:

#10

I use a 3M half-mask when clear coating and gel coating. Nothing when working with epoxy.

I have a closed paint booth in which I apply those sticky things, which pulls the mist out. The concentration stays pretty low that way:

#11

I wear a full-face respirator even when cutting CF.

#12

I use a dustmask for cutting dry fibres, semi prepreg fibres, and working with them. Respirator with activecarbonfilters when working with *ester resins. None when using epoxy/prepregs(except good gloves!) No forced ventilation anywhere, not even in the cutting area, but thats not in my workshop, haha. I would like a cutting and trimming area with low pressure, laminating area with higher pressure,and a radio with good reception, but that’s nog gonna happen. :slight_smile: