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Heard a guy at the Canton foundry say he never checks his respirator seal
I was over at the Canton plant last week and a guy on the shakeout line told me he just puts his respirator on without doing the seal check. Said he's been doing it for years and feels fine. That's a fast track to silicosis, no question. How many of you actually do the positive and negative pressure check every single time you suit up?
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casey3426mo ago
My buddy's dad worked a sandblasting job for twenty years and never did the seal check. He's on oxygen now, can barely walk to his mailbox.
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sean484mo ago
At my shop we use a little portable dust monitor for the silica stuff. Costs like 200 bucks but it beeps instantly if the air is bad. One of my guys ignored his seal check for maybe three months, thought it was no big deal because he felt fine. Then the monitor started going off during a job where he was sweeping up dry sand. Turned out his respirator had a hairline crack in the seal. He's been on a stricter check schedule ever since. That ten second check is cheap insurance compared to what that guy's buddy's dad is going through now.
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finleyrivera6mo ago
That's a wild way to gamble with your lungs. The check takes ten seconds. I saw a guy get written up for skipping it at my old site, and he still didn't get why it was a big deal. You can't feel silica dust until it's way too late. Feeling fine now means nothing.
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