A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including fumes, vapours, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses. There are two main categories of respirators: the air-purifying respirator, in which respirable air is obtained by filtering a contaminated atmosphere, and the air-supplied respirator, in which an alternate supply of breathable air is delivered. Within each category, different techniques are employed to reduce or eliminate noxious airborne contaminants.
Air-purifying respirators range from relatively inexpensive, single-use, disposable face masks sometimes referred to as a filtering facepiece respirator to a more robust reusable model with replaceable cartridges called an elastomeric respirator. Powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR), use a pump or fan to constantly move air through a filter and supply purified air into a mask, helmet or hood.
All respirators have some type of facepiece held to the wearer's head with straps, a cloth harness, or some other method. Facepieces come in many different styles and sizes to accommodate all types of face shapes. The differences in respirator designs impact the respirator assigned protection factors, i.e. the resulting degree of protection from specific kinds of hazards.
Respirators can have half-face forms that cover the bottom half of the face including the nose and mouth, and full-face forms that cover the entire face. Half-face respirators are only effective in environments where the contaminants are not toxic to the eyes or facial area. For example, someone who is spray painting could wear a half-face respirator, but someone who works with chlorine gas would have to wear a full-face respirator.
An escape respirator may have no component that would normally be described as a mask, and may use a bite-grip mouthpiece and nose clip instead.
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Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. Protective equipment may be worn for job-related occupational safety and health purposes, as well as for sports and other recreational activities.
An N95 filtering facepiece respirator, commonly abbreviated N95 respirator, is a particulate-filtering facepiece respirator that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 classification of air filtration, meaning that it filters at least 95% of airborne particles that have a mass median aerodynamic diameter of 0.3 micrometers. This standard does not require that the respirator be resistant to oil; another standard, P95, adds that requirement.
Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural firefighting and wildland firefighting. Specialized training includes aircraft firefighting, shipboard firefighting, aerial firefighting, maritime firefighting, and proximity firefighting.
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