#niosh

[bisexual-engineer-girl]

THEY FUCKING KILLED

NIOSH??????!!!!?!

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

WHO IS GOING TO CERTIFY RESPIRATORS AND SHIT NOW???

#bringbackblacklung

REBLOG IF YOU LOVE DYING OF PARKINSONS/LUNG CANCER/WHATEVER FROM WELDING FUMES I GUESS

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

A lot has happened this week. On Tuesday, April 1st, several hundred people woke up to an email letting us know we’d lost our jobs working for the federal government. I never believed the claims from the administration that it would only be “waste” that would’ve been eliminated, but after the promises that scientists would be safe I didn’t expect to immediately lose my job on a random Tuesday at 5:10 AM. Since that moment, I have cycled through anger and sadness and grief, knowing that what we worked so hard to achieve is gone forever.

I am a West Virginia girl, through and through. I grew up here. I attended West Virginia University for undergrad and my PhD. When I finished my PhD in Immunology and Microbiology in 2021, I immediately started working at CDC NIOSH in Morgantown, as an Associate Service Fellow. NIOSH was founded to understand diseases that were being seen in coal miners, and as a West Virginian the importance of protecting worker safety is something that you understand really young and really personally. I was beyond thrilled to find an opportunity to use my doctoral education in my home state, conducting research that directly benefits American workers and helps our people live safer, healthier lives. I have been with NIOSH since 2021, working in the building every day as a scientist, studying how exposure to particles and microbes interacts with immune systems.

The type of research that we were doing is not being done anywhere else in the world. And now it’s not being done at all.

We were permitted to come in and gather our belongings, but our building is left vacant, and for what? We have backlogs of samples we were unable to process because of purchasing freezes since January. My data, which is really data that belongs to the American people, is sitting in files that I can only assume will be deleted at the earliest convenience of the administration. We are grieving the senseless loss of our laboratory animals, euthanized because we can’t finish studies. Their lives ended without cause, exacting further torment on the scientists that value animal life so deeply, a core principle held in all animal research. The cruelty and waste in the administration’s plan to “reduce redundancy and government waste” is disgusting and offensive.

What scares me now is not my own job security or what’s next for my career. It’s not what happens next for me as an individual, or even the impact on the larger scientific community, but the ripple that will impact every single American and American worker. Without NIOSH to study the effects of occupational safety and health risks or to study the health hazards that appear and grow and evolve every day, who is going to do that? Who is going to care about the American worker in a way that’s not biased by a company’s bottom line? Who is going to certify respirators and masks? We don’t know. And maybe the answer is no one. That is what scares me most.

[Catherine Blackwood]

+

This is so many kinds of devastating and a microcosm of what the 47 crew are doing.

[Rebecca Solnit] 

[jkmhoffman]

[crows-are-gathering]

Millions of Workers’ Lives are in Danger– Speak Up Now!

Respirators, like N95s, save workers’ lives–but only if they actually filter the air. The United States has had a robust certification proce

[maebh8768]

Do your nails filter acid gases AND 99.97% of airborne particles?

(I didn’t actually do this on purpose I was just looking for some obnoxious summer-y colors to do a gradient and later in the week I was doing (possibly lead) paint removal and said 🤔)

[n95masksale01]

The Benefits of Using an N95 Mask

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has prompted physicians and other healthcare providers to stress the necessity of wearing masks every day for protection from the spread of COVID-19. Since SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is quite transmissible, experts recommend the use of N95, KN95, and KF94 masks in public indoor spaces, even though reusable cloth masks have been recommended since the 1970s.

What is an N95 mask?

As a means of abbreviating air quality respirator (also known as N95 mask), it generally stands for a single-piece respirator that complies with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) N95 regulations. As a result, N95 mask meet the requirements of the Department of Health and Human Services and Environmental Protection Agency for respirators. However, while a single-piece mask may be more comfortable for some people than a full-face mask, they often do not fit properly and cause breathing problems because of how they are designed.

What is the need for N95 masks?

The wearing of a mask has been proven to help prevent other people from contracting SARS-CoV-2. Despite this, the public health authorities do not provide much guidance on which kind of masks to use.

The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge the public to avoid wearing N95 respirators. Synthetic fibers make up this mask, which shields you from particles containing viruses known as aerosols. This was due to a lack of these masks at the time, and health care workers urgently needed them.

Airborne particles and aerosols do not pose a risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2, according to both agencies. For the prevention of virus-carrying droplets, agencies recommended using cloth masks and homemade masks. This was even though airborne particles are frequently a source of infection for SARS-CoV-2.

The advantages are as follows: 

Airborne contaminants must be protected from dust masks; fume masks, chemical fume masks, pollen masks, and smoke masks. N95 mask are often believed to be effective in protecting people against these harmful toxins, but they are not. It prevents the user from inhaling microscopic particles that lodge in their lungs and cause different respiratory disorders. 

N95 masks filter out particles to allow air to pass through the wearer's airways and to the rest of the body. In contrast, while wearing an N95 mask can eliminate the vast majority of particles that can cause disease, many of these particles are not truly dangerous in any way. Therefore, an N95 mask always provides the level of protection that is required in any particular environment. In addition to being capable of filtering dangerous particles, an N95 mask is also capable of filtering out other harmful particles. 

Dust, mold, and other similar microorganisms those are abundant in the air, but which are not hazardous in and of themselves, can cause a person's lungs to become irritated and create irritation. An N95 mask protects the wearer from smoke and other forms of air pollution, in addition to providing respiratory protection. 

The N95 mask prevents the entry of particles into the wearer's mouth and lungs, regardless of whether the particle is lodged in the lungs in the form of a little particle lodged in the throat. In the end, it has done its job, even if the particle lodges in the lungs in the form of a little particle lodged in the throat. 

When to Replace Your N95?

It is not necessary to wash or microwave your N95 to sterilise it. N95s should be replaced when they deteriorate and their straps no longer fit snugly against your face or if they become wet, dirty, or damaged. If this occurs, dispose of it.

[prettyindeath]

I'm going to make a grand post about this soon—I planned to today, but so many other things were on my plate—but for now,

In the midst of the new variant, and people being encouraged to switch to N95 masks with respirators (which stop at least 95% of airborne particulates), GO TO HOME DEPOT FOR ONE 🗣️🗣️🗣️ (Or if you know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy who's in construction—they're often referred to as "painter's masks". The guy will know the one!) Of course, not everyone is able to do this, or the masks may be sold out, so there's the other option of looking online.

Some quick things to look out for that I will expand on, with all the proper links and more elaborations, when the post comes:

A real N95 mask has headbands NOT ear loops. If it has ear loops of any kind (adjustable or not), skip it!

A real N95 does not have any aesthetic designs to it!!

A real N95 mask does not come in kid sizes!!!

A real N95 mask does not have removable filters!!!!

A real N95 mask WILL have "NIOSH," an abbreviated TC approval number, a model/product line number, "N95," and the manufacturer written on the mask itself. This information, in full, will also be found on the packaging or in the user instructions. (Tbh get one that has all of this on the mask itself, it's so much easier cuz you'll be able to verify its legitimacy from product pictures alone, and then double check it when you get it)!!!!!

Edit: Here's the link for how to spot a potential counterfeit.

To verify if the mask you want/got is from a NIOSH-approved manufacturer, and NIOSH-approved itself, use this link. It's an index of all of this information. Which is also a great resource for finding other options should the current one you're looking at be sold out.

This is what I've gathered from my research, and as always, I encourage others to do their own to be able to look out best for themselves and their loved ones.

Wishing all health and safety.

[richardnixonlibrary]

#Nixon50 #OTD 12/29/1970 President Nixon signed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The purpose of the Act is to protect workers from dangerous work conditions. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (Image: WHPO-5402-15A)