Posted By Philip Thomas
Hello all,

I hope you can help with a question originating in the Far East, where health and safety hasn't quite yet got the attention it has back home.

Anyhow, some employees of this company are involved in painting the insides of tanks and bilges. You can imagine that conditions are extremely confined and non-ventilated in these spaces. At present the painters are provided with half face masks fitted with '3M 6003/07047' filters. These do the job fine, however, they only are good for approximately 6-7 hours of exposure. This has lead the powers that be, to question the heavy cost of these items and whether there are other alternatives. I am concerned that they may turn to cheaper, less reliable, filters made closer to home in Asia.

I wanted to ask for assistance from any forum members who are experienced with this issue and /or may be aware of reasonably priced alternative filters or other equipment that has a longer life for keeping out paint fumes in closed spaces. By the way, because of the climate, full faced masks are not really an option. The heat and humidity turns them into ovens in no time at all.

Thanks for your help in advance and I hope again I have posted t the right forum.

Posted By Brigham
Surely in this type of environment RPE is required!

Posted By Tabs
Philip,

How was this filter specified for this application? Was 3M consulted for advice?

Looking at the specification for the filter, I am not convinced it is being used in the right application. But I might be wrong as I am no expert in masks.

Here in the UK we would probably be looking at RPE - some forced (cooled probably) air passing over the face through a full face mask. Initial costs are high, but running costs are a lot lower if this is an on-going scenario.

As an old process engineer, I would also be asking if you couldn't paint the tanks before assembly, so that only the seams would have to be painted from inside.

It sounds as though the environment would be deemed as a Confined Space by UK law, and so rescue, monitoring, ventilation, etc., would have to be considered too - mask filters becomes a smaller part of the costs when you start looking at doing it over here.

Posted By GT
Phillip, Some very good advice has already been given, I have recently engaged these masks on a project here but the scenario is different spraying externally.

I contacted 3m with the trade name and data sheet for the paints being used and they recommended the filters to be used. However, there is a warning and this maybe appropriate to you that the life of these half mask filters even in the conditions in which we operate which is not confined use can be affected by the volume and exposure time to the material being filtered.

Quite honestly they need to consider why they engaged you and act accordingly, I think the advice in the forum is where you should begin
and for me you have to address the ( Ventilation) air flow through this area as I believe it will eliminate many of your concerns, heat reduction, diluted product in the atmosphere etc, but not all.

GT

Posted By Adrian Watson
Dear Phillip,

There are a number of issues here that concern me as there is insufficient information on which to give you specific advice to deal with this problem. These questions need answering before anybody can give sensible guidance.

Task:

What materials are you using (type of paint, inc details of solvent carrier)?
How are you painting (spray, hand, paint application rates, painted surface areas)?

Individuals:

How long and how often are people painting?
What hazardous agents are persons exposed to?
What are the routes of exposure?
Are there any health effects?
What is the state of their health?
What co-stressors exist?

Management:

What information, instruction and training is provided?
What supervision is provided?
What shifts are in place?
What are the recovery times?
How did you choose face masks?
How often are they replaced?

Environment?

When and where are you painting (volume of work area & ventilation)?
What are the environmental factors (Air temp, RH, ventilation rates)?

Regards Adrian Watson Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene Dip Occ Hyg