Paprs

[mugs]

 Although I have been trained on paprs I have never used them in a practical situation.Each safety meeting those who are complain about papr performance while completing strenuous tasks.Any comments or experience?

[Laundry Man]

There are so many new PAPRs out there that are lite and easy ti use.  Nothing like the old full face respirator with a huge battery on your belt.  Do a little leg work and you will find some great products out the.
LM

[Marlin]

   We are using a 3M PAPR that has a fairly small battery. Even with that, when you are required to carry multiple BZ samplers and a radio on your belt under your PPE, in addition to the battery, into an area it is still cumbersome. PAPRs are typically only required in areas with elevated airborne contaminates (or potential for) requiring an increased protection factor. Cost is an issue and use in the cold can be an issue, one person I worked with froze her tear ducts wearing one. They do reduce stress of long time respirator use and help to some extent with heat stress.
   Using them for moderate to heavy work does require the user to modify their work routine but unless you can do some decon or implement engineering controls (or talk RadCon or Industrial Hygiene out of it), not much option.

[On The Road]

We went from using the MSA OptimAir 6A to the OptimAir TL. These units are much lighter and have safety bells and whistles built in. They have a 4 or 8 hour battery, they quick charge. They are a very good product. Heres the bad, The cost! They are not cheap for the initial cost.

[Incline]

We use the 3M also for high contam work, but we have Delta BLU suits that we use on very rare occasions. I prefer the BLU suit over a PAPR anyday. The PAPR, in my opinion gives a false sense of heat stress i that it keeps just your head cool.
The BLU suit has a manifold in it that blows air over your entire body thereby giving you a more accurate gauge as to how you are feeling. Plus it has all kinds of sensors that let you know if the battery is low of if there if low air flow. And no there are no scissors required for removal, just pull the tab and peel it off.

[Marlin]

Heres the bad, The cost! They are not cheap for the initial cost.

That would leave them out of the equation here, we throw away mask pump and cord after every use due to mixed hazards including beryllium. About half of this 1,000,000 square foot building is Beryllium contaminated.