Respirator cartridge change schedule (literature review)

Abstract

Introduction. A necessary condition for protecting an employee from gases with the help of filtering personal respiratory protection equipment (PPE) is the timely replacement of filters. Previously, the reaction of the sense organs to the ingress of gas into the mask was used for this. Due to unreliability, this method has been completely banned in all developed countries, since filter life is estimated under the worst expected conditions for scheduling filter replacement. Materials and methods. We prepared the article using publications NIOSH, OSHA, Taylor & Francis, Springer, Journal of the ISRP, legal requirements of developed countries for the use of respirators, and other available publications. Results. The article describes problems and ways to solve them during scheduling, using mathematical modeling of the service life (single use of the filter), taking into account its advantages and disadvantages and problems in assessing the safety of reuse of cartridges. Conclusion. The article contains an analysis of the sources of risk for workers using gas masks in Russian Federation; recommendations for its reduction are given.