In this episode, Terry Gorman, 3M’s Occupational Hygienist for the Personal Safety Division in Australia and New Zealand joins host Mark Reggers to discuss Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) care and maintenance.

Respiratory protective equipment can be the lifeblood of your tool kit, protecting you from a host of respiratory ailments and diseases. Like all safety equipment, however, they need proper care and maintenance to be effective, and in turn, provide the required protection against the inhalation of hazardous airborne substances in the workplace.

Guest Bio:

Terry Gorman (pictured left) is a Certified Occupational Hygienist who has been involved in workplace safety for nearly 30 years. He has worked for 3M Australia and New Zealand in the Personal Safety Division for 18 years.

Terry is a current member of the Australian/New Zealand Standard Committees responsible for respiratory protection (AS/NZS 1715 & 1716) as well as the Eye/Face Protection Standards Committee (AS/NZS 1337 & 1338).

He currently represents Standards Australia on the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Committee TC94/SC15, a team of international specialists creating a set of global respiratory standards.

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In this episode, Mark & Terry discuss the following:

• Why is it so important for workplaces to maintain their RPE?
• How often should RPE be cleaned and or disinfected?
• To what level should a piece of RPE be cleaned too?
• What is the difference between cleaning, disinfecting, sanitising and sterilising?
• How do you recommend cleaning and disinfecting of RPE?
• What should be inspected on the different types of RPE?
• Ideally, how should RPE be stored?
• Where can listeners go to get further information on respiratory protection care and maintenance?

How do you properly care for and maintain your respiratory protective equipment? Cleaning, disinfecting, sanitising and sterilising, what’s the difference between them and what do you need for your gear. The more complicated and sophisticated the equipment, for example, a self-contained breathing apparatus unit versus a disposable respirator, the more you need to know about them. Adequate training in their operation, inspection, maintenance and storage regimes along with an awareness of manufacturer guidelines is critical. Tune in as we cover the topic of respiratory protective equipment care and maintenance to ensure you get the most out of your RPE every time you need them, in terms of both product life and respiratory protection.

Additional Resources:

• Podcast Transcript
• 3M Tech Update – Cleaning Reusable Respirators
• 3M Guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting TR-300 PAPR

Contact a 3M Safety Specialist at scienceofsafetyanz@mmm.com for more information.