"Masks and Hoods" Clean air - one of the three basic ingredients for life on this planet. Not only is it good for you, it's the Law!

Take a tour of several body shops and you'll see a lot of differences in the way they look and operate. Many are spiffy, clean and well-equipped, while others...well, seem to be on their last legs. There are a few areas, though, where no shop owner can afford to let things slide. One of these deals with employee health. Like it or not, the shop manager (and ultimately the shop owner) is responsible for just about everything that happens on the premises. Shop management has a legal and moral obligation to make sure the workplace is as safe as possible. Although OSHA has been guilty of causing some major problems in the workplace over the years, we've all got to admit they have succeeded in making us more aware of health concerns and safety.
 
Some Health & Safety History

In the past, there was a widely held attitude that as far as health and safety was concerned, an employee was on his own. I worked a textile plant in North Carolina in the late 60's, and in the textile industry it was a "given" that you would eventually experience the effects of White Lung Disease, an illness caused by long-term exposure to cotton and/or synthetic fibers. In addition, the weave room where I worked was deafeningly loud, hot and humid. The mill I worked in assumed no responsibility for the effects of these hazards. Body shops weren't much different.
 
Our Present Situation

Things are different now from several standpoints. In the collision repair shop, hazards abound: from airborne talc dust generated by sanding operations, to isocyanates in the clears we shoot. There's no getting around using hazardous substances, so we do our best to protect ourselves. The first and most important line of defense against many hazards is proper respiratory equipment.

 There are at least 4 basic respiratory hazards we deal with in the shop. Depending on the materials and chemicals used, you may have more than this. These include:

1. Particle: Dust from grinding, sanding and sandblasting operations
2. Welding Fume Hazards
3. Paint, Enamel, Lacquer and Organic Mists & Vapors
4. Isocyanates: These chemicals deserve a special mention because they are odorless and more lethal over the long term

A Helpful Guide

Looking through a manufacturer's catalog of masks and hoods can be a daunting experience; One we examined had no fewer than 29 mask and hood combinations. Knowing which device(s) to use requires a bit of research. Fortunately, OSHA has published the guidelines and regulations that take the guesswork out of mask/hood selection. And here's some good news: The writers of the regulations actually speak English! Government legalese has been kept to a minimum (and just when you were learning to decipher it!).

To view the regulations, just click on the OSHA REGS button at the bottom of this article. After getting to the OSHA page, just go down to Section 1910.134 "Respiratory Protection/Personal Protective Equipment". It might be a good idea to print these regs as they only take up 6 pages.
 
One parting note:

If there's any humor in any of this, it's in OSHA's rule #1910.134(e)(5)(ii), which states: "Providing respiratory protection for individuals wearing corrective glasses is a serious problem...A proper seal cannot be established...if the glasses extend through the sealing edge of the full face piece. As a temporary measure, glasses with short (arms)...can be TAPED TO THE WEARER'S HEAD..." (!) We wonder if the correct tape to use is 2" masking or duct tape!