3M™ Respirators for Professional Mold Remediators

This blog article was originally published in September 2017 by 3M. This original article can be viewed here multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1450491O/3m-respirators-for-professional-mold-remediators-technical-data-bulletin.pdf.

As flood waters recede, you may be called to clean up mold growth in homes. Some molds release spores and a musty odor. Molds are known to cause a variety of health effects, especially to those with asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, severe allergies, immune suppression, or other chronic inflammatory lung diseases.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published guidelines including “Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings”. In the EPA document, PPE recommendations based on the size of the clean-up area are provided. When cleaning up moldy areas less than 100 square feet, NIOSH approved N95 filtering facepiece respirators, or half masks with replaceable 100 level particulate filters (N100, R100 or P100) may be used in conjunction with disposable coveralls, gloves and goggles. For areas greater than 100 square feet, full facepiece respirators with 100 level particulate filters may be used. The full facepiece may also be used as part of a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) system. In addition, appropriate gloves, disposable coveralls, full body clothing, head gear, and foot coverings are recommended.

A respirator or particle filter with “nuisance level organic vapor relief”, or an organic vapor cartridge in addition to a particle filter may be used to help filter both spores and musty odors. Gases and vapors associated with disinfectants (e.g. chlorine or ammonia) may warrant the use of an appropriate chemical cartridge in conjunction with the particulate filter. Respirators may help reduce your exposure to mold spores, but will not eliminate exposure or necessarily prevent adverse reactions.

It is very important to read and follow the donning instructions carefully and to conduct a user seal check every time the respirator is put on. A good fit can only be obtained if the face is clean-shaven in the area where the respirator seals against the face. The use of NIOSH-certified respirators in workplace environments must be accompanied by a full respiratory protection program as specified in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134. Important components of a respiratory protection program include written standard operating procedures, medical evaluation, user training, respirator cleaning and maintenance, and properly fitting the respirator to the user. For more information, please call 3M Technical Service at 1-800-243-4630.

This blog article was originally published in September 2017 by 3M. This original article can be viewed here multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1450491O/3m-respirators-for-professional-mold-remediators-technical-data-bulletin.pdf.