The most dangerous moustache…
Each November, thousands of people across the UK raise awareness for men’s health by growing a moustache for Movember, but did you know that a moustache might be putting your life at risk?
And no, we’re not talking about the next Bond villain…
The fantastic Movember movement raises money for ground-breaking health projects for men including the likes of mental health support, suicide prevention and prostate cancer research. They do amazing work, and thousands of men join in their campaign each year by sporting a moustache. However, regardless of whether you think the tash is trendy or not…
The Bad News
…If you use Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) in the workplace, facial hair around the seal area (where the respirator presses against your face) can cause leaks. Any leaks, even the size of a pin prick can cause hazardous particles in the environment to enter your lungs.
Depending on what you’re using RPE to protect you from, this contaminated air entering your lungs could cause a range of issues – from short-term issues such as dizziness, to long term effects such as COPD or lung cancer.
The Situation
As explained by the Health & Safety Executive, for a tight-fitting respirator to work effectively, the wearer must be clean shaven under the area of the seal.
In most cases, this means the wearer must clean shave shortly before each shift.
The Good News
The good news however, is that not all facial hair is incompatible with RPE, and not all RPE is incompatible with facial hair!
Here’s a brief breakdown for those of you considering growing a furry caterpillar this November:
Avoiding the seal
Tight-fitting respirators come in lots of different shapes and sizes (as do people and moustaches!). Depending on where your respirator sits on your face, and how your moustache is growing, you may be able to trim it to avoid interfering with the seal.
Please note, this will vary from person-to-person, and respirator-to-respirator. We recommend speaking to your Health & Safety Manager before doing this in case it is in breach of their policy or would not be suitable in your situation.
Loose-Fitting RPE
Some RPE – such as the Oprtrel e3000X Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Kit – don’t rely on a tight seal around the face to work.
These devices suck air in the environment through a filter using a motorised fan and blow the filtered air through a hose into a head top worn by the user. Due to the constant positive pressure supplied by the air, the wearer only ever breathes in filtered air, despite the seal around the head top often being loose.
Large (and we mean, really large) beards may still interfere with the system, so please consult with your Health & Safety Manager just to be sure.
Shaving
While disappointing, it can’t be stressed enough that you need to look after your lungs. The likes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asbestosis not only can lead to an early grave, but are severely debilitating diseases.
If you do have to shave though, not all is lost! You can still join in by raising money for a friend, or donating on Movember’s website: https://uk.movember.com/
For all matters respirator, fit testing or health & safety related, get in touch with our RPE experts today.