Do you have spare respirators?
Healthcare workers are in need of 3M N95 and N100 cartridges for protection from COVID-19. If you have spares in your shop then please consider donating them to a local hospital, health authority, or first-responder group.
Mar 19, 2020
If you’re like me, sometimes you feel like there isn’t anything you can do to help brave medical professionals on the front lines fighting the coronavirus. Well, if you’re the type that buys in bulk, and you have extra dust masks, respirators, or respirator cartridges, consider yourself lucky. There is something significant you can do to help.
We recently received the following email from James Pring, a reader who works as a scientist.
Covid protection for healthcare workers needs a lot of those 3M N95 and N100 3M cartridges. If listeners have spares in their shop (new and unopened) then PLEASE consider donating to a local hospital, health authority, or first responder group. Supplies will become scarce and if you have spares, do something good with them.
I had heard that there was a run on respirators in the stores, but I didn’t know that there was a dire need in hospitals. After posting his message to our social media channels, the reaction from other medical professionals confirmed Mr. Pring’s sentiments.
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There were a few questions asking if specific models or ratings were needed. At this time we’re not in a position to get into specifics, and I’d say it’s best to leave that up to your local medical professionals.
We’re all in this together, and let’s get the supplies to those who need them the most.
*3/21/20 update – The need is still real people. So real that CNN is reporting on James’ efforts to get the word out.
Comments
Ben,
Well done on getting this out to people. Let's help the health care professionals do their job and keep us safe.
Please, please do all you can. Here in Boston they are in desperate need. A doctor of my wife whose specialty is about as far removed as you can get, might get called in to help in the ICU. I just found 10 N95 masks in my shop still in a bag. I'll drop them off tomorrow.
I looked up the N95s, and realized that I had five (half a box), still in the box, still in the plastic wrap. I switched to the reusable masks with the P100 2091 filters, but I had these N95s in the shop for visitors. I called my local hospital, said I had masks, and the guy answering the phone was thrilled and put me through to the ER. I talked with an ER nurse, who said to bring them to her, by name. I did. She came out and thanked me, and then took my picture to post on the hospital's social media site. Then the head ER nurse came out and also thanked me. The need is real. If you have any, please donate what you can.
Thanks Ben,
Please keep in mind anything greater than NIOSH-rated N95s are invaluable as well: R and P prefixes with a 95-rating or higher work just as well for particles, they're just also oil resistant. They also have greater inhalation resistance which can tired Healthcare Workers. If I recall correctly, NIOSH considers P100 to last longer than one shift, although I don't know how much longer.
I'm a clinician; however, my friend in the ER sees more total acute patients than me in the same amount of time. He will treat more total patients in his setting than mine (I'm also younger), so I offered him my P100 respirator.
We each need to do what we can.
Some care facilities accept open packages, some do not. I used getusppe.org to find locations in my area.
Besides N95 or better masks, they need powder-free nitrile gloves (which we use for finishing) and full face masks (like we use for turning at the lathe). Other sites are asking for eye protection (the picture looks a lot like safety glasses to me).
You might think your box of 200 nitrile gloves is a drop in the bucket, and sadly it is, but if we all pitch in we can make a bit of a dent in the need.
Keeping just one health care professional on duty with these PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) donations could save many lives.
As an ER doctor in Philadelphia, I can tell you that we are absolutely in need of N95’s. It has made my job infinitely more difficult that I need to ration one mask per 8 hour shift. Any donations to any local hospitals where you live, are appreciated more than you can imagine.
And as an educational aside, I only use them when I am doing aerosolizing procedures such as intubation, so the rest of the time I have no mask or a simple surgical mask. This is perfectly fine. Please don’t look foolish and wear an n95 to the grocery store etc. if you are not in a closed environment where viral particles are being aerosolized throughout the room, you absolutely don’t need, and shouldn’t be wearing an N95 mask. Take them to your local ER if you really want to help.
Nick Tyner MD
Philadelphia
I have a constant set of woodworking respirators with me, otherwise my lungs could be damaged by wood dust. There's no way to let that happen! So you have to think immediately about what kind of respirators you are going to buy. Picking up is usually not easy and easy. It is necessary to contact professionals about it, to study the profile articles and materials, as you can make a mistake and get to work. In this case, just hurt your lungs. This should not be allowed. For example, I found information here about Best Respirators For Woodworking https://systemofyoursafety.com/best-respirators-for-woodworking/ . This is a profile article on this topic and how to protect the lungs from various particles when working with wood. So make sure you study it. I will say from myself that for now I stopped on Organic Vapor Full Face Respirator, because it is perfectly fixed, not hot, does not interfere with the work and really protects. It has several degrees of security, so I hope that it can help everyone. But here you can already see for yourself, there are a few of them to choose from to suit your type, format and personal preferences.
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