Page 19 - OHS, May 2021

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RESPIRATORY PROTECTION
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Alittle over a year ago, “respiratory PPE” was almost exclusively considered an industrial term. Then came COVID-19. This deadly, highly contagious respiratory illness forced respirators and face masks to the forefront of our everyday vocabulary, dominating headlines and conversations.
With the pandemic came skyrocketing demand for respiratory PPE, resulting in a critical shortage of PPE in many industries, with healthcare being hit the hardest. As the demand for N95 masks catapulted, the supply and infrastructure for many of the manufacturers weren’t built or designed to keep up. Additionally, the safety industry saw an influx of several new N95 manufacturers and suppliers, many of whom didn’t have an established background in PPE production. With this change in the competitive landscape and more manufacturers than ever before, PPE research and worker-focused innovation has become even more crucial to all industry players trying to stay in the game.
The Past
While PPE has been making headlines recently, respirators have been around for more than a century. What started from wet cloths and animal skins has evolved into a full range of respiratory protection solutions for a variety of applications, from military and first responders to industrial workers and healthcare professionals.
Why exactly do we need respiratory PPE? Simply put, respiratory protection exists to help protect humans from inhaling anything that is potentially harmful or dangerous in their environment. COVID-19 isn’t the first outbreak of its kind—not even close. In the last decade alone, we’ve seen Ebola, Zika, SARS and Swine Flu, all of which pre-dated COVID-19 and had respiratory protection implications.
Here’s why: the aerosolization of viruses enables infection of a person through the respiratory system or the eyes. That’s why the filtering capacity of respiratory PPE is the most critical factor in protection from COVID-19 and other respiratory-born
illnesses. It’s also why we’ve seen supply disappear from shelves and why more stockpiling and preparedness will become the norm on a go-forward basis.
The Present
Beyond organizational stockpiling, we’ve seen more mask wearers than ever before. While this practice may not hold as a permanent lifestyle change in the Western world after government mandates officially lift, and we see life “go back to normal,” it’s a shared experience many of us will never forget.
Even with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, the need for efficient respiratory PPE remains high and continues to grow. As an industry, we can’t expect demand to ever return to 2019 levels. More than ever, stockpiling inventory will be more prevalent across industries because society will not want to risk getting caught short again.
For the industrial and healthcare workers who are required to wear some type of mask, reusability is an important consideration in a long-term
respiratory protection program. Beyond the disposable respirators, Air Purifying Respirators (APRs) and Powered Air Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) are another convenient and efficient option. Both are reusable, offering sustainability and a higher level of protection than disposables masks. They have more give, so they’re more comfortable and they can be cleaned and re-used.
PAPRs specifically are battery- powered, all-in-one integrated units with a battery and blower motor contained in compact casing so they can be worn comfortably. Plus, these respirators (when worn with a loose-fitting hood) don’t require a fit test and can help keep workers cool during a long shift.
The Future
With continuous and growing demand and a much wider range of end users, manufacturers have turned their attention to the next generation of respiratory PPE. The focus of innovation should be on the next level of comfort, an important factor in the correct and continued usage of
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MAY 2021 | Occupational Health & Safety 15
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