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Old 08-29-2017, 04:10 PM
Phil Minton Phil Minton is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: London, UK
Posts: 257
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I believe peer pressure is a major contributor to many not taking appropriate safety precautions. I'm constantly having the same conversation with my son (aged 27) who often works in rail tunnels and has already been referred to occupational health re his lungs and I keep reminding him to wear a mask but unfortunately none of his colleagues do. My own background was as a fireman at the time when you had to "experience" fire conditions without breathing apparatus for your first 3 months. 40 years later I can personally vouch that I wish I had worn BA or a mask more often, even while welding or doing diy at home.

I'd also just mention a hazard that often goes unheeded, the fumes from petroleum based liquids. Not just their flammability in an enclosed environment but what breathing them in can do. After an exposure to toluene fumes at a factory back in the 90's my lungs sill react to any petrol vapours now they are sensitized.

Lastly and as mentioned previously, on car restoration courses we were advised not to use plasma cutters without appropriate masks due to the particles created when cutting. How true this is I don't know but I'd prefer to opt on the side of caution. In the workshop I have Drager P3 masks for both me and my son. I like them because they are easy to wash, comfortable to wear and easy to fit the filters for either dust or fumes depending on the job in hand.
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Phil
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