If you’re operating industrial spray equipment in any kind of contaminated or hazardous environment, you are well aware that supplying fresh air via air breathing systems is vital to your day-to-day operations. Many of these safety guidelines are derived from OSHA and CSA regulations for workplace safety. Your individual needs will vary depending on your applications and your industry, but there are key factors in these OSHA regulations to consider when you need to provide fresh compressed air through an air breathing system in your workplace.
OSHA regulations for air breathing systems are specifically laid out by regulation 1910.134 for Personal Protective Equipment in contaminated air spaces. Many of the regulations laid out can be met through control measures in the workplace such as air filtration, enclosures of the contaminated area, and substitution of hazardous materials for less toxic ones.
When those control measures mentioned above cannot be satisfied, it is necessary for OSHA compliance to provide an air breathing system in areas contaminated with toxic materials. Section (a)(2) of the OSHA standards call for respirators to be provided and maintained by employers in these such instances. Most industrial standards are based on achieving Grade “D” breathable air, which consists of both filtration and air quality monitoring standards.
A key difference in understanding these OSHA standards is use of supplied air in these environments. This requirement differs from basic air filtration by use of compressed air that is supplied to the user via air breathing systems rather than simple respirators. Air breathing systems of this type take advantage of air compression components.
Filter systems utilize silica in the filtering process to provide the proper Grade “D” air defined by OSHA. In addition to supplying fresh air, employers must also monitor the air quality within the air breathing systems to detect elevated levels of hazardous materials like carbon monoxide.
Many of these OSHA compliant systems are personal breathing units that are small enough to fit on a user’s waist without being to cumbersome to restrict users from operating as they would normally in a less hazardous environment. These single-line hose designs are critical for maintaining easy working conditions for the operators while ensuring employers are within the compliance standards set forth by OSHA regulations.
MC Supply and Service Inc. has decades of experience working with industrial manufacturers to evaluate the level of OSHA compliance that your work environment needs based on the materials being used and the space in which you are using them. Once those factors are determined, our experts can find the appropriate air breathing system that will ensure your employees are always working in an OSHA compliant environment. In addition to selecting the proper clean air system, MC Supply can install and maintain your air breathing systems so our customers rest easy knowing they are both compliant with government regulations and providing their employees with a safe and comfortable workspace.
