In my 3 yrs in the company, i worked with harmful solvents without protection. Finally, i stood up and went ago to get the masks for all users in my company. Yea, it's ugly. It's huge. It's not exactly very comfortable. Below will be a list of harmful substances i used.

Xylene
Xylene enters your body rapidly when you breathe in its vapors. It can also be absorbed through your skin, particularly if the period of contact is lengthy. Overexposure to xylene most commonly affects your nervous system, respiratory system, and skin, as described below.

Nervous System: Xylene, like most organic solvents, affects your central nervous system (your brain) the same way drinking alcohol does. The effects listed below can begin to occur with exposure to air levels of about 100 parts per million. They become more noticeable and serious as the level or length of time of exposure increases. Although these effects usually go away fairly quickly after your exposure stops, they can increase your chances of having an accident. Drinking alcohol within a few hours of exposure increases the likelihood of feeling these symptoms. This is because the effects of xylene and alcohol add together.

Effects of Xylene on the Nervous System
100-200 ppm nausea, headache
200-500 ppm feeling "high" dizziness, weakness, irritability, vomiting, slowed reaction time
800-10,000 ppm giddiness, confusion, clumsiness, slurred speech, loss of balance, ringing in the ears
>10,000 ppm sleepiness, loss of consciousness, death

Some studies suggest that repeated, frequent overexposure to organic solvents over months or years can have long-lasting and possibly permanent effects on the nervous system. The symptoms of these long-term effects include fatigue, poor coordination, difficulty concentrating, loss of memory, and personality changes, such as increased anxiety, nervousness, and irritability. We do not know the exposure levels at which such effects occur, and there have been no studies of workers exposed only to xylene.

Eyes, Nose, and Throat: If you are exposed to xylene in the air at levels above about 200 ppm, your eyes, nose, and throat can become irritated.
If liquid xylene is accidentally splashed in the eye, it stings and may damage the surface of the eye, which should heal within a few days.

Skin: Xylene, like other organic solvents, can dissolve your skin's natural protective oils. Frequent or prolonged skin contact can cause irritation and dermatitis (skin rash), with dryness, flaking, and cracking of the skin. Damaged skin may allow greater absorption of chemicals. Xylene easily penetrates most ordinary clothing (see "Reducing Your Exposure" on page 3) and can become trapped in ordinary gloves and boots. Xylene trapped in your clothing can cause burns and blistering.

Lungs: Exposure to xylene at levels of 200 ppm or greater can irritate your lungs, causing chest pain and shortness of breath. Extreme overexposure (for example, in a confined space) can result in pulmonary edema, a potentially life-threatening condition in which the lungs fill with fluid. However, there is no evidence that repeated, low-level exposure has any long-term effects on the lung.

Liver and Kidney: At very high levels of exposure, xylene can injure the liver and kidneys, but this is extremely unlikely to happen without noticeable effects on the nervous system also. Generally, such liver and kidney damage is reversible.
Blood: There is no evidence that exposure to xylene affects blood cells in humans. Earlier reports of low red blood cell counts (anemia) may have been due to contamination of xylene with benzene.

Cancer: Xylene has been tested in laboratory animals, and did not cause cancer. We do not know whether xylene can cause cancer in humans.

Reproductive System: The effects of xylene on the reproductive system are not clearly known. When pregnant animals are exposed to very large amounts of xylene, the developing fetuses can be harmed. Levels of xylene high enough to kill some of the pregnant animals can cause birth defects in the offspring of the survivors. However, we do not know whether or not xylene can affect pregnancy or reproductive function in humans.

Xylene inhaled by a woman can reach a developing fetus and can contaminate her breast milk. We recommend that pregnant and nursing women minimize their exposure to xylene, just as they should minimize their exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs

Blame it on xylene when u find me easily irritable, not able to remember what you have said, having headaches and always complaining that i rubbed my eyes too much. ..... Thank god it didn't cause cancer. But i still want to have my baby with Yida. Hope the respirator helps with my nervous system damage.

Methyl Benzoate
Acute Health Effects
The following acute (short-term) health effects may occur
immediately or shortly after exposure to Methyl Benzoate:
* Contact can cause skin and eye irritation.
* Breathing Methyl Benzoate can irritate the nose and throat
causing coughing and wheezing.

Chronic Health Effects
The following chronic (long-term) health effects can occur at
some time after exposure to Methyl Benzoate and can last for
months or years:

Cancer Hazard
* According to the information presently available to the
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services,
Methyl Benzoate has not been tested for its ability to
cause cancer in animals.

Reproductive Hazard
* According to the information presently available to the
New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services,
Methyl Benzoate has not been tested for its ability to
affect reproduction.

Other Long-Term Effects
* Methyl Benzoate may cause a skin allergy. If allergy
develops, very low future exposure can cause itching and a
skin rash.

* Methyl Benzoate may cause an asthma-like allergy.
Future exposure can cause asthma attacks with shortness of
breath, wheezing, cough, and/or chest tightness.

* Repeated exposures to high levels of Methyl Benzoate
may affect the nervous system causing tremors and muscle muscle weakness

Maybe i know why my eyes are always so itch with years in my company.

I am going to stop on the effects of chemicals on me. Coz it's a long list. Another potential hazard is beta mercaptanol. Sigh......

Oh about the mask! It's real interesting. It comes with a fit test. So how do they go about doing the fit test.


No1) Get the right size for your face. By pressing on the two cartridges on the side, you shouldn't be taking in any air. By blocking the exhaler hole when you breath out, you should hear a 'pop' sound upon release.


No2) Put your head into a plastic like thingy and mist a solution giving a bitter taste if you breath through mouth. You really taste nothing with mask on. But after the demonstrator allow a small gap through yr mouth piece........ the bitterness sucks!

So that's all for the fit test!
Wondering how i look with that on me?
Alright will show you. Have you seen squashed tomatoes? Here you go!

OK! Stop laughing!

Twinkling@
9/27/2006 09:50:00 PM