Respirator Use Is Common, Respirator Maintenance Should Be Common, Too

摘要

Foundries and diecasters have numerous reasons to provide effective respirators for their workers. Keeping those devices functioning effectively is part of their EHS responsibility. Pouring, drossing, moldmaking, abrasive blasting, chipping, grinding, and welding are all common processes in metalcasting operations that may result in exposure to airborne contaminants and agents, like metal fumes, silica dust, formaldehyde, and isocyanates. These basic operations account for the fact that metalcasting plants use respirators at a rate six times greater than other industries, according to a 2001 Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Respirator Use and Practices.